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Irish Proverbs

  • Flag of Ireland"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
  • "About evening a man is known."
  • "A boys best friend is his mother and there's no spancel stronger than her apron string."
  • "A buckle is a great addition to an old shoe."
  • "A closed mouth--a wise head."
  • "A dishonest woman can't be kept in and an honest woman won't."
  • "A fool and his money are easily parted."
  • "A foolish woman knows a foolish man's faults."
  • "After the gathering comes the scattering."
  • "A golden ring can tie a man as tight as any chain."
  • "A good beginning is half the work."
  • "A greyhound finds food in its feet."
  • "A guest should be blind in another man's house."
  • "A handstaff of holly, a buailtin of hazel,a single sheaf and a clean floor."
  • "A heavy purse makes a light heart."
  • "A hut is a palace to a poor man."
  • "A Kerry shower is of twenty-four hours."
  • "A king's son is not nobler than his food."
  • "A list full of gain and a village full of shame."
  • "A little dog can start a hare, but it takes a big one to catch it."
  • "A little of anything isn't worth a pin; but a wee bit of sense is worth a lot."
  • "A little pleases a poor man."
  • "A live dog is better than a dead lion."
  • "All happy endings are beginnings as well."
  • "A loud voice can make even the truth sound foolish."
  • "A man of one cow- a man of no cow."
  • "A man is no more encumbered by his soul than the steed by his bridle or the lake by the swan."
  • "A man is shy in another man's corner."
  • "A man may be his own ruin."
  • "A man who holds good cards would never say if they were dealt wrong."
  • "A man with a loud laugh makes truth itself seem folly, truth is great and will win out."
  • "A meeting in sunlight is lucky, and a burying in the rain."
  • "A misty winter brings a pleasant spring, a pleasant winter a misty spring."
  • "A narrow neck keeps the bottle from being emptied in one swig."
  • "An excuse is nearer to a woman than her apron."
  • "An eye is blind in another man's corner."
  • "A nod is as good as a wink to a blind donkey."
  • "An old broom knows the dirty corners best."
  • "Any man can lose his hat in a fairy- wind."
  • "Any man who owns a cow can always find a woman to milk her."
  • "A poem ought to be well made at first, for there is many a one to spoil it afterwards."
  • "A postponement till morning- A postponement for ever."
  • "A promise is a debt."
  • "A ring on a good woman's finger is no good without a blouse on her back."
  • "A scholars ink lasts longer than a martyrs blood."
  • "As honest as a cat when the meat is out of reach."
  • "A secret is a weapon and a friend."
  • "A shamefaced man seldom acquires wealth."
  • "A short visit is best and that not too often."
  • "A shrew gets her wish but suffers in the getting."
  • "A silent mouth is musical."
  • "A silent mouth is sweet to hear."
  • "A silent mouth never did any harm."
  • "A sly rogue is often in good dress."
  • "A smokey cabin, a handful of spuds and a flea-filled bed."
  • "A soft dropping April brings milk to cows and sheep."
  • "A spender gets the property of the hoarder."
  • "As the old cock crows the young cock learns."
  • "A story without an author is not worth listening to."
  • "A trout in the pot is better than a salmon in the sea."
  • "A turkey never voted for an early Christmas."
  • "Autumn days come quickly like the running of a hound on the moor."
  • "A watched kettle never boils."
  • "A wedge from itself splits the oak tree."
  • "A welcome is a debtor's face."
  • "A whistling woman and a crowing hen will bring no luck to the house they are in."
  • "A wild goose never reared a tame gosling."
  • "A windy day is the wrong one for thatching."
  • "A wise head keeps a shut mouth."
  • "A woman can beat the Devil."
  • "A woman like a goose, a sharp pecking woman."
  • "A woman like a pig, a sleepy-headed woman."
  • "A woman like a sickle, a strong stubborn woman."
  • "A woman like a goat, a woman of rushing visits."
  • "A woman like a sheep, an affable friendly woman."
  • "A woman like a lamb, a quiet friendly woman."
  • "A woman without is she who has neither pipe nor child."
  • "A wren in the hand is better than a crane to be caught."
  • "Beef to the heels like a Mullingar heifer."
  • "Be kind to those that meet you as you rise, you may pass them again as you fall."
  • "Be there with the day and be gone with the day."
  • "Better an idle house than a bad tenant."
  • "Better April showers than the breadth of the ocean in gold."
  • "Better for a man to have even a dog welcome him than a dog bark at him."
  • "Better own a trifle than want a great deal."
  • "Better sit beside him than in his place."
  • "Better the certainty of the straddle than the mere loan of a saddle."
  • "Better is the trouble that follows death than the trouble that follows shame."
  • "Big bellies were never generous."
  • "Big men are not the only kind that can reap a harvest."
  • "By degrees the castles are built."
  • "Castles were built a stone at a time."
  • "Constant company wears out its welcome."
  • "Discord is less painful than loneliness."
  • "Do it as if there was fire in your skin."
  • "Do not be talkative in an alehouse."
  • "Do not keep your tongue under your belt."
  • "Do not mistake a goats beard for a fine stallions tail."
  • "Don't bid the Devil good day till you meet him."
  • "Don't bless the fish till it gets to the land."
  • "Don't build the sty until the litter comes."
  • "Don't count your chickens before they are hatched."
  • "Don't be ever in court or a castle without a woman to make your excuse."
  • "Don't go early or late to the well."
  • "Don't let your tongue cut your throat."
  • "Don't mention him and a decent man in the one day."
  • "Don't rest your eyes beyond what is your own."
  • "Don't say everything you want to say lest you hear something you would not like to hear."
  • "Don't tell secrets to the children of your relatives."
  • "Don't tell your complaint to one who has no pity."
  • "Don't tell your secret even to a fence."
  • "Don't throw out the dirty water until you have the clean water in."
  • "Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you fight with your neighbour. It makes you shoot at your landlord and it makes you miss him."
  • "Drunkenness and anger, 'tis said tell the truth."
  • "Eight lives for the men and nine for the women."
  • "Even a tin knocker shines on a dirty door."
  • "Even black hens lay white eggs."
  • "Even the truth may be bitter."
  • "Every bird as it is reared and the lark for the bog."
  • "Everyone is wise till he speaks."
  • "Everyone lays a burden on the willing horse."
  • "Everyone praises his native land."
  • "Every patient is a doctor after his cure."
  • "Everything dear is a woman's fancy."
  • "Everything troubles you and the cat breaks your heart."
  • "Fair words never fed a friar."
  • "Fat is not to be had without labour."
  • "Fences have ears."
  • "Firelight will not let you read fine stories but its warm and you wont see the dust on the floor."
  • "Food is no more important than wisdom, The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God."
  • "For what cannot be cured, patience is best.God is good, but never dance in a small boat."
  • "Going in is not the same as going out."
  • "Great mansions have slippery doors."
  • "Great talk and little action."
  • "Half a loaf is better than no bread."
  • "Handfuls make a load."
  • "Have it yourself, or else do without it."
  • "He couldn't drag a herring off the coals."
  • "He'd offer you an egg if you promised not to break the shell."
  • "He dotes on his midden and thinks it the moon."
  • "He got it from nature as the pig got the rooting in the ground."
  • "He knows how many grains to a bushel of wheat."
  • "He knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."
  • "He may die of wind but he'll never die of wisdom."
  • "He's more to be pitied than laughed at."
  • "He thinks that he himself is the very stone that was hurled at the castle."
  • "He was never good since the time a yard [of cloth] made a coat for him."
  • "He who is best for me is he who shall get the best share."
  • "He who pays the piper calls the tune."
  • "He who spies is the one who kills."
  • "His own wound is what everyone feels soonest."
  • "Humor to a man is like a feather pillow. It is filled with what is easy to get but gives great comfort."
  • "Idleness is a fool's desire."
  • "If a cat had a dowry, she would often be kissed."
  • "If a rogue deceives me once, shame on him. If he deceives me twice, shame on me."
  • "It destroys the craft not to learn it."
  • "If it's a secret, it's binding."
  • "If it's got badly, it'll go badly."
  • "If you don't know the way, walk slowly."
  • "If you don't want flour on your shoes, don't go into the mill."
  • "If you have a roving eye, it's no use having the other one fixed on Heaven."
  • "If you have one pair of good soles its better than two pairs of good uppers."
  • "If you lie down with dogs you'll rise with fleas."
  • "If you lend your coat, don't cut off the buttons."
  • "If you meet a red-haired woman, you'll meet a crowd."
  • "If you put a silk dress on a goat he is a goat still."
  • "If the knitter is weary, the baby will have no new bonnet."
  • "I'll go there tonight for evening is speedier than morning."
  • "In winter the milk goes to the cow's horns."
  • "Irishwomen have a dispensation from the pope to wear the thick ends of their legs downwards."
  • "It is a hard task to comfort the proud."
  • "It is a lonely washing that has no man's shirt in it."
  • "It is better to be born lucky than rich."
  • "It is difficult to soothe the proud."
  • "It is no secret that is known to three."
  • "It is no shame to tell the truth."
  • "It is no time to go for the doctor when the patient is dead."
  • "It is not the most beautiful woman who has the most sense."
  • "It is the deaf people that create the lies."
  • "It's a bad hen that won't scratch herself."
  • "It's a bad hound that's not worth the whistling."
  • "It's as hard to see a woman crying as it is to see a barefooted duck."
  • "It's a small thing that outlives a man."
  • "It's bad manners to talk about ropes in the house of a man whose father was hanged."
  • "It's better than it's want."
  • "It's better than the loan you couldn't get."
  • "It's better to be sorry and stay, than to be sorry and go away."
  • "It's better to return from the centre of the ford than drown in the flood."
  • "It's difficult to choose between two blind goats."
  • "It's difficult to trust a woman."
  • "It's easy to knead when meal is at hand."
  • "It's for her own good that the cat purrs."
  • "It's hard to take britches off bare hips."
  • "It's just a wisp in place of a brush."
  • "It's no delay to stop to edge the tool."
  • "It's no use boiling your cabbage twice."
  • "It's no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking."
  • "It's not worth a cuckoo-spit."
  • "It's often a man's mouth broke his nose."
  • "Keep your tongue in your jaw and your tow in your pump."
  • "Least said soonest mended."
  • "Leave the bad tale where you found it."
  • "Let your bargain suit your purpose."
  • "Like an Irish wolf she barks at her own shadow."
  • "Limerick was, Dublin is, and Cork shall be the finest city of the three."
  • "Little talk is easy to cure."
  • "Long churning makes bad butter."
  • "Long loneliness is better than bad company."
  • "Make hay while the sun shines."
  • "Making the beginning is one third of the work."
  • "Man to the hills, woman to the shore."
  • "Many a defect is seen in the poor man."
  • "Many a happy colt makes a fine horse."
  • "Many an Irish property was increased by the lace of a daughter's petticoat."
  • "Many a sudden change takes place on a spring day."
  • "Many hands make light work."
  • "Marriages are all happy; its having breakfast together that causes all the trouble."
  • "Men are like bagpipes-no sound comes from them until they're full."
  • "More hair than tit, like a mountain heifer."
  • "Nature will come through the claws, and the hound will follow the hare."
  • "Neighbours bring comfort in adversity but only envy in success."
  • "Never ask a fox to mind the hens."
  • "Never buy bread from a butcher."
  • "Never call a Kerry man a fool until you're sure he's not a rogue."
  • "Never give cherries to pigs or advice to fools."
  • "Never praise your son-in-law until the year is out."
  • "Never put off tomorrow what you can do today."
  • "Never rub your eye with anything but your elbow."
  • "Never sleep with a stranger or borrow from a neighbour."
  • "Never speak to the feet while the head is alive."
  • "Never trust a spiteful man."
  • "Nobody ever bought peace but the man who hadn't got it."
  • "No dealing with a revengeful man."
  • "No forcing the sea."
  • "No matter how often a pitcher goes to the water it is broken in the end"
  • "No matter how tall your grandfather was, you have to do your own growing."
  • "No matter who succeeds or fails, the peacemaker will always suffer."
  • "No-one is ever poor who has the sight of his eyes and the use of his feet. A poor man never yet lost his property."
  • "No rearing, no manners."
  • "No stopping the force of a going wheel by hand."
  • "No tree but has rotten wood enough to burn it."
  • "Often a cow does not take after its breed."
  • "One beetle recognizes another."
  • "One eye in the corner is sharper than two about the house."
  • "One man's meat is another man's poison."
  • "One pair of good soles is worth two pairs of upper leathers."
  • "One who is without cows must be his own dog."
  • "A blind man can see his mouth."
  • "Only a fool would prefer food to a woman."
  • "Only the rich can afford compassion."
  • "Only those who were born to hang are not afraid of the water."
  • "Patience and forbearance make a bishop of his reverence."
  • "Patience can conquer destiny."
  • "Patience cures many an old complaint."
  • "Patience is a plaster for all sores."
  • "Patience is a virtue that causes no shame."
  • "Peace is worth buying."
  • "Pity him who makes his opinions a certainty."
  • "Pity the man who does wrong and is poor as well."
  • "Pity the man who has a stranger's spancel on him."
  • "Poor is the church without music."
  • "Poor men take to the sea; the rich to the mountains."
  • "Possession is nine-tenths of the law."
  • "Possession satisfies."
  • "Poverty creates sadness."
  • "Poverty is no shame."
  • "Poverty parts good company."
  • "Praise the ford when you have crossed it."
  • "Praise the ripe field not the green corn."
  • "Praise the young and they will make progress."
  • "Pride comes before a fall."
  • "Pride feels no pain."
  • "Proverbs cannot be contradicted."
  • "Put a beggar on horseback and he'll ride to Hell."
  • "Put it on your shoulder and say it is not a burden."
  • "Red sky at night is a shepherds delight, red sky in the morning is a shepherds warning."
  • "Remember even if you loose all, keep your good name for if you loose that you are worthless."
  • "Reputations last longer than lives."
  • "Scattering is easier than gathering."
  • "See not what you see and hear not what you hear."
  • "Sending the goose on a message to the fox's den."
  • "Sense doesn't come before age."
  • "Shame is ever a part of poverty."
  • "She wipes the plate with the cat's tail."
  • "She would drink the cream and say the cat she had was an old rogue."
  • "Show the fatted calf but not the thing that fattened him."
  • "Snuff at a wake is fine if there's nobody sneezing over the snuff box."
  • "Soft words butter no parsnips but they won't harden the heart of the cabbage either."
  • "Soft words butter no turnips."
  • "Sow early and mow early."
  • "Speed and accuracy do not agree."
  • "Spread your cloth only as you can draw it."
  • "Strength is not enduring."
  • "Sweet is the voice of the man who has wealth."
  • "Take gifts with a sigh most men give to be paid."
  • "Tell the truth and shame the devil."
  • "That's a spoon ye'll sup sorrow with yet."
  • "The apple falls on the head that's under it."
  • "The best looking-glass is the eyes of a friend."
  • "The best way to keep loyalty in a man's heart is to keep money in his purse."
  • "The bird that can sing and won't sing should be made to sing."
  • "The blacksmith's horse and the cobbler's wife are always the last to have shoes."
  • "The cat is always dignified, until the dog comes by."
  • "The dog that's always on the go, is better than the one that's always curled up."
  • "The doorstep of a great house is slippery."
  • "The early bird catches the worm."
  • "The early riser gets through his business but not through early rising."
  • "The end of a feast is better than the beginning of a fight."
  • "The English always credit the rest of us with the qualities they don't need themselves."
  • "The eye should be blind in the home of another."
  • "The fox never found a better messenger than himself."
  • "The full man does not understand the wants of the hungry."
  • "The full stomach does not understand the empty one."
  • "The hand goes only where the leg goes."
  • "The heavier the purse, the lighter the heart."
  • "The horse with the most scars is the one that highest kicks his rear."
  • "The Irish forgive their great men when they are safely buried."
  • "The longest road out is the shortest road home."
  • "The man who was dividing Ireland didn't leave himself last."
  • "The mason who strikes often is better than the one who strikes too hard."
  • "The money-maker is never tired."
  • "The older the fiddle the sweeter the tune."
  • "The old pipe gives the sweetest smoke."
  • "The one who waits the fine day, will get the fine day."
  • "The person of the greatest talk is the person of the least work."
  • "The person who brings a story to you will take away two from you."
  • "The pride of women and the pride of priests."
  • "The proverb cannot be bettered."
  • "The quiet pigs eat all the draff."
  • "The rabbit gets fat on what the hare misses."
  • "There are as many good fish in the sea as ever came out of it."
  • "There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught."
  • "There are three creatures beyond ruling- a mule, a pig and a woman."
  • "There are two tellings to every story."
  • "There is a crock of gold in the tomb of every chieftain, but they are all guarded by cats and fairies."
  • "There is misfortune only where there is wealth."
  • "There is no pain greater than the pain of rejection."
  • "There is no smoke without fire."
  • "There is not a tree in Heaven that is higher than the tree of patience."
  • "There is nothing in the world so poor as going to hell."
  • "There is nothing sharper than a woman's tongue."
  • "There is no thing wickeder than a woman of evil temper."
  • "There is no virtue in the herb that is not got in time."
  • "There'll be white blackbirds before an unwilling woman ties the knot."
  • "There never was an old slipper but there was an old stocking to match it."
  • "There's a fool born every minute- and every one of them lives!"
  • "There's as many good horses in carts as in coaches."
  • "There's little to choose between two blind goats."
  • "There's little value in the single cow."
  • "There's many a good tune played on an old fiddle."
  • "There's many a ship lost within sight of harbour."
  • "There's neither success nor efficiency without authority and laws."
  • "There's no need to fear the wind if your haystacks are tied down."
  • "There's no wise man without a fault."
  • "There's trouble in every house and some in he street."
  • "There was never a scabby sheep in a flock that didn't like to have a comrade."
  • "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
  • "The road to Heaven is well signposted, but it is badly lit at night."
  • "The secret of an old woman scolding."
  • "The seeking for one thing will find another."
  • "The silent are often guilty."
  • "The slow horse reaches the mill."
  • "The slow hound often has good qualities."
  • "The smaller the cabin the wider the door."
  • "The stars make no noise."
  • "The sty before the litter."
  • "The sweat of one's brow is what burns everyone."
  • "The thief is no danger to the beggar."
  • "The tongue ties knots that the teeth cannot loosen."
  • "The waiting man thinks the time long."
  • "The well-filled belly has little understanding of the empty."
  • "The windy day is not the day for thatching."
  • "The wood will renew the foliage it sheds."
  • "The world's quiet and the pig is in the sty."
  • "The youngest thorns are the sharpest."
  • "The young shed many skins."
  • "Those who get the name of rising early may lie all day."
  • "Though the proverb is abandoned, it is not falsified."
  • "Though wisdom is good in the beginning it is better at the end."
  • "Time and Patience would bring the snail to Jerusalem."
  • "Time is a good story-teller."
  • "'Tis afterwards that everything is understood."
  • "'Tis as hard to see a woman cry, as a goose go barefoot."
  • "To be red-haired is better than to be without a head."
  • "To every cow its calf; to every book its copy."
  • "To put off repentance is dangerous."
  • "To the fighting man peace is sure."
  • "To the raven her own chick is white."
  • "Treachery returns."
  • "Trouble hates nothing as much as a smile."
  • "Truth speaks even though the tongue were dead."
  • "Truth stands when everything else falls"
  • "Two things that go for loss-turf on a mountain and the wisdom of a poor man."
  • "Watching is a part of good play."
  • "We have a fine day more often than a kiln-cast."
  • "What butter and whiskey will not cure there's no cure for."
  • "What is in the marrow is hard to take out of the bone."
  • "What's good for the goose is good for the gander."
  • "What I'm afraid to hear I'd better say first myself."
  • "What is nearest the heart is nearest the mouth."
  • "What's all the world to a man when his wife is a widow."
  • "What will come from the briar but the berry."
  • "What would a young cat do but eat mice?"
  • "What would shame him would turn back a funeral."
  • "When a heifer is far from home she grows longer horns."
  • "When all fruits fail welcome haws."
  • "When a man gets his feet in lime he cannot easily get rid of it."
  • "When the apple is ripe, it will fall."
  • "When the fruit is scarcest, its taste is sweetest."
  • "When the old woman is hard pressed, she has to run."
  • "When the sky falls we'll catch larks."
  • "When wrathful words arise a closed mouth is soothing."
  • "Where comes a cow the wiseman lay down[St.Colmcille], there follows a woman, and where comes a woman follows trouble."
  • "Wherever there are women there's talking, and wherever there's geese there's cackling."
  • "Whoever the cap fits, takes it."
  • "Willful waste makes woeful want."
  • "Wind from the east is good for neither man nor beast."
  • "Wisdom is what makes a poor man a king, a weak person powerful, a good generation of a bad one, a foolish man reasonable."
  • "Without pressing too little or too hard, hold tight the reins for he's a fool who would not get value from a borrowed horse."
  • "Woe to the man that entrusts his secrets to a ditch."
  • "Women are shy and shame prevents them from refusing a man."
  • "Women are stronger than men, they do not die of wisdom."
  • "You can keep away from the rogue, but you cannot keep yourself safe from the liar."
  • "You can kill a dog more ways than by choking it with butter."
  • "You can take a man out of the bog, but you can't take the bog out of the man."
  • "You can't teach an old dog new tricks."
  • "You can't build a barrel round a bung hole."
  • "You can't put a wide head on young shoulders."
  • "You couldn't make half a football team out of all the Leinster men in Heaven."
  • "You didn't turn up when sense was being distributed."
  • "You kissed the blarney stone."
  • "You'll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind."
  • "You must crack the nuts before you can eat the kernel."
  • "You must empty a box before you fill it again."
  • "You never miss the water till the well has run dry."
  • "Youth likes to wander."


Latest page update: made by Farore , Dec 9 2007, 12:33 PM EST (about this update About This Update Farore Edited by Farore

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