Blair Collection > Collection of Gaelic proverbs and familiar phrases

282
Cha 'n e 'n t-ànradh a th' ann,
Ach cion foighidinn gu fuireach.
Of great yir ice is patience ;
Wrath declines with waiting ;
Not the evil is so great,
As impatience to ivait.
Is mor thugam, 's is beag agam.
Great appearance and little value.
Is mor le doimeig a cuid abhrais ; 's cha 'n e mhòid
ach a dhorrad.
TJie slattern's spÌ7ining -stuff looks great to her ; not the
bulk, but the bother.
Defnyddfawr pob angheUydd— Unskilful requires much stuff.—
Welsh.
Is mor òirleach bharr sròin duine.
An inch off a man's nose is a great deal.
Possibly this Celtic saying may have been known to M. About
when he composed his 'Nez d'un avocat'.
Is mor stà na h-Airde do Mhac-Shimidh.
Great is the profit of the Aird to Lovat.
The Aird is a district belonging to the Lovat family.
Is mor toirm cuilce gun dol troimhpe.
The storm of reeds is loud till you go through them.
More formidable in sound than in reality.
Is ni air leth cè dòirte.
Spilt cream is a thing by itself.
An irremediable loss.
Is niarachd do'n gealladh tu 'chroich.
Lucky for him to ivhom you woidd promise the gallows.
Said to people whose word does not go for mucK
Is obair latha duine thiodhlaiceadh.
To bury a man is a days tuork.
So it used to be, and not in the Highlands only. Lord
Brougham's account of the funeral of his grandmother gives an
amusing illustration of this.
Is obair-latha tòiseachadh.
Beginning is a days work.
Deuparth gwaith ei ddechreu — Txco parts of a n-orlc is heginning.
— IVdsh. See 'Is da tlirian'.