[from Manx Notes & Queries, 1904]

[51.]

PROVERBS AND SAYINGS.

Ta saynt shiaght saggyrtyn ayns dooinney dyn chloan, as ta saynt shiaght eirinnee ayns dy chooilley haggyrt.

(There is the greed of seven parsons in a man without children, and the greed of seven farmers in every parson.)

[52.]

I have heard a man, when fishing bollans at the rocks, saying :—

Bollan beg ny feacklyn creoci,
Cur uss raip, as veryms raip dt’oi.

Little bollan with the sharp teeth,
Give me a rip, and I will rip against thee.

....

[57.]

PROVERBS.

Nagh gow gys dty obbyr laa fegooish brishey dty hrostey.
(Don’t go to your day-work without breaking your fast.)

Doonaght sheeidey, shiaghtin kennipey,
(A silken Sunday, a hempen week.)

Myr s’moo ny cheayney,
Myr s’rnoo ny mooin.

(The greater the crying,
The greater the mooin.)

‘I never heard talk of the toothache among the old people, and I believe that tea and sugar are the cause in many cases. I heard of a very old man in Cregnaish that said to someone enquiring about his teeth, that his teeth were as sharp yet as a young pup’s teeth, and myr s’doo, s’graihagh —the blacker, the lovelier !"

[58.]

PROVERBS AND SAYINGS.

My vac, my vac gys yiow eh ben,
Agh my inneen, my inneen aeg ny shenn.

(My son is my son till he gets a wife,
But my daughter is my daughter all the days of her life.)

Ta dooinney ny gha leaystey yn clean,
Nagh vel yn lhiannoo bentyn da hene.

(Many a man is rocking the cradle,
The child was not his own.)

Baase mie mraane as aigh vie keyrragh
Ta er yannoo deiney ny ga berchagh.

(The death of wives and good luck for sheep
Has made many men rich.)

Ta’n dooinney creeney smooinacthtyn ooilley ny t’eh gra,
Agh ta’n ommidan gra ooilley ny t’eh smooinaghtyn.

(The wise man thinks all that he says, But the fool says all that he thinks.)

Raad ta mraane ta pleat,
Raad ta guolee ta keck,
Raad ta thaihearyn ta thollagyn,
As raad ta seyir ta spollagyn.

(Where there are women there is talk,
Where there are geese there is keck,
Where there are tailors there are crabs,
Where there are carpenters, there are chips)

This is given only fragmentarily in Moore’s Folk Lore of the Isle of Man, see page 183. Ta un red cur lesh red elley cordail rish shenn raa. (One thing brings another as the old proverb says.)

Te ny share goll dy lhie accryssagh ny goll dy lhie lesh boig lane.
(It is better to go to bed hungry than to go to bed with a full belly.)

Ta earrey ‘sy chooyrb ny share ny ping ‘sy sporran
(A friend in court is better than a penny in the purse.)

[59.]

PROVERBS.

Ta e aigney hene ec dooinney, agh ta e rand hene ec ben.
(Man has his own will, but woman has her own way.)

Yn dooinney ta jeeaghyn dy mie lurg y obbyr hene ta paichey echey dy yannoo.
(The man who minds his own business well has always enough to do.)

Lhag-laueys mergys ny hanmey.
(Idleness is the rust of the soul.)

Quoi erbee ta jeeagbyn son carrey fegooish foiljyn cha jean eh dy bragh geddyn shen ny te’h shirrey er y hon. Ta shin graihagh orrin hene lesh ooilley nyn voiljyn as lhisagh shin ye graihagh er nyn gaarjyn er yn aght cheddin

(Whoever looks for a friend without fault will never get what he seeks, we love ourselves with all our faults and we ought to love our friends in like manner.)

Ta jeih thousanyn jeh ny voiljyn smoo ta ayne nyu nabooyn jeh ny sloo dy vadyr dooin ny yn foul sloo ta ayn-in-hene.

(Ten thousand of the greatest faults in our neighbours is of less consequence than the smallest of our own.)

Dooinney ta poost ta e hreishteil roit ass,
Te kiart goll-rish muc lesh teidd er y chass.

(A man that is married has lost all his hopes,
He is just like a pig with her leg in a rope.)

Sollan, sollan, sailley blass dy chooilley vee
(Salt, salt, bring tastes every meat);

was a proverb among the people, they liked plenty of salt in everything.