Blair Collection > Collection of Gaelic proverbs and familiar phrases

284
Is olc a' muileann a cliuireas a chuid a dh 'aon taobh.
It's a had mill that sends all its meal one way.
Is olc a' sgrioban nach lion a' sgròban.
It's 'poor scra'ping that wont fill the crop.
Is olc a thig muc-saille air sobhraichean na coille.
The fat soio is ill-fed on the jyrvnroses of the wood.
Is olc a thig saor sàr-bhuilleach, goblia crith-lamhach,
agus leigh tioin-cliridheach.
A heavy-handed joiner, a trcmhliny-handed smith, and
a soft-hearted leech, do not suit.
A good surgeon must have an eagle's eye, a lady's hand, and a
lion's heart. — Eng.
The use of ' thig ' = fit, without a preposition, is peculiar, and
not according to present usage.
Is olc am bodach nach fheairrde cailleach eadar i 's
an dorus.
Hes a vjretched old man that an old ivife is not the
letter of having hetween her and the door.
Is olc am pàisd' nach cuir sop air dòigh.
It's a had child that can't arrange a wisp.
Is olc an còcair nach imlich a mhiar.
He's a poor cooh that doesn't lich his finger.
Sa er brytinn vestr er sjalfan sik taelir. — It is the worst cooh that
stints himself. — Icel.
Is olc an comunn dheth 'm bi dithis diombach.
It's had company with which two are displeased.
Al. an comhradh — the colloquy; an cluich — the game; an
gnothach — the business.
Is olc an dithis nach fhoghainn do dh-aon duine.
It's a poor pair that are no match for one.
Is olc an fheòil nach gabh ri salann ; is miosa a' chol-
ainn nach gabh guth.
It's had meat that won't take salt; zoorse is the hody
that won't take ivarning.
Is olc an goile nach teòth a chnid.
It's a had stomach that its food won't ivarm.
Is olc an ni a bhi falamh.
It's a had thing to have nothing.
Proverbs of this kind must have suggested ' Proverbial Philo-
sophy '.