Blair Collection > Collection of Gaelic proverbs and familiar phrases

50
B'e sin an salann 'g a chur 's a' mhuir.
Putting salt into the sea.
Bwrw heli yn y mòr. — Welsh.
B'e sin fiodh a chur do Lochabar.
That were sending wood to Lochaber.
B' e sin im a chur do thigh àirich.
That were sending butter to a dairyman's house.
Sending owls to Athens. — Gr. Sending pines to Norway. —
Dan. Carrying coaLs to Newcastle. — Engl. Ca'in saut to Dysart,
and puddin's to Tranent. — Scot. Taking blades to Damascus —
Arab. Pepper to Hindostan. — Pers. Cockles to St. Michel— i^'r.
B'e sin an seangan a' toirt greim' a gearran.
That were the ant biting the gelding.
B'e sin an tuagh a thoirt a làimh an t-saoir.
That were to take the axe out of the carpenters hand.
B'e sin buille 's a' cheann 'us seachainn am muineaL
That were hitting the head, and avoiding the neck.
B'e sin cead iarraidh òrd a bhualadh air bàirnich.
That ivere asking leave to lift a limpet.
Literally, ' to strike a hammer on a limpet '. Limpets, which
are much used as bait in the Highlands and Islands, are naturally
considered free to all mankind. The tool used lor detaching them
is called ' òrd-bàirnich,' though generally it is a chisel rather than
a hammer. A huge block of trap, which has slipped from the
face of a cliff in one of the islands of Loch Bracadale in Skye, is
called ' Ord-bàirnich Fhinn,' Fingal's limpet-hammer.
B'e sin faire 'chlamhain air na cearcan.
That were the kite's tvatch over the heros.
Such protection as vultures give to lambs. — Pizarro.
B'e sin greim de 'n easgainn air a h-eàrr.
That were taking the eel by the tail.
B'e sin " Ho ! " fada bho'n chrodh.
That ivere a call far from the cows.
Out of place, or before the time.
B'e sin iasad an Deamhain do 'n mhuileann.
TJiat were the Devil's loan to the mill.
Bleùd an Diaoul — the Devil's meal. — Breton.
There are proverbs of various nations, implying a disbelief in
the honesty of millers, and this seems to be one of them.