Chapter D

Daffin and want o’ wit maks auld wives denard.
Damming and laving is gude sure fishing.
Daughters and dead fish are nae keeping ware.
Dawted bairns dow bear little.
Day-light will peep through a sma’ hole.
Dear bought and far sought is meat for ladies.
Death and marriage break term-day.
Death defies the doctor.
Ding down the nest and the rooks will flee away.
Dinna gut your fish till ye get them.
Dit your mouth wi’ your meat.
Do as the lasses do, say no and tak it.
Dinna meddle wi’ the deil and the laird’s bairns.
Dogs will redd swine.
Dows and dominies leave ay a foul house.
Double charges rive cannons.
Drink he sought, but draff was his errand.
Draff’s gude enough for swine.
Drive a cow to the ha’ she’ll rin to the byre.
Drink and drouth come na ay thegether.
Drink little that ye may drink lang.
Drunken at e’en and dry in the morning.
Dummie winna lie.

E

Early master soon knave.—Eat your fill but pouch nane.
Eat pease wi’ the prince, and cherries wi’ the chapman.
Eat in measure and defy the doctor.
Eat weel’s drink weel’s brither.
Eating and drinking wants but a beginning.
Eild and poortith’s sair to thole.
Eith learning the cat to the kirn.
Eith working when will’s at hame.
Either win the horse or tine the saddle.
Either the tod or the fearn bush.
E’ening red and morning grey, is a taiken of a bonny day.
E’ening oats are gude morning fodder.
E’en as ye win’t say ye may wear’t.
Embro’ justice, the greater the crime the sma’er the fine.
Eneugh’s as gude’s a feast.
Every ane creeshes the fat sows tail.
Every ane loups the dike where it’s laighest.
Every craw thinks hir ain bird whitest.
Every dog has his day.
Every man can guide an ill wife weel but he that has her.
Every man bows to the bush he gets bield frae.
Every man’s tale’s gude till anither’s be tauld.
Every man at forty is a fool or a physician.
Every man has his ain draff pock.
Every miller wad wyse the water to his ain mill.
Every thing has an end, and a pudding has twa.
Experience teaches fools.

F

Faint heart never won fair lady.
Fair exchange is nae robbery.—Fancy kills and cures.
Fann’d fires and forc’d love ne’er did weel.
Far away fowls hae fair feathers.—Far frae court far frae care.
Far behind that may not follow.—Fast bind, fast find.
Fat paunches bode lean pows.—First come first ser’d.
Feckless foek are ay fond of ane anither.
Fiddler’s wives and gamester’s ale are free to every body.
Fiddler’s dogs and flesh-flies come to feasts unca’d.
Fight dog, fight bear, wha won deil care.
Fine feathers mak fine birds.—Fools’ haste is nae speed.
Fire and water are gude servants, but ill masters.
Flaes and a girning wife are waukrife bed-fellows.
Fleying a bird is no the way to grip it.
Flitting of farms mak mailings dear.—Friends ’gree best sindry.
Fools shou’d nae hae chapping stieks.
Fools ravel and wise men redd.—Fumblers are ay fond o’ weans.
Fools and bairns shou’d nae see a ha’f done turn.
Fools mak feasts, and wise fouk eat them; the wise mak jests, and fools
repeat them.
For fashion’s sake, as dogs gang to the market.
Fore-warn’d, ha’f armed.—Foul water slockens fire.
Fresh fish and poor friends grow soon ill-far’d.
Friends are like fiddle-strings, they mauna be screw’d owre tight.
Frost and fausehood hae baith a dirty waygang.

G

Gaunting bodes wanting.—Gie the deil his due.
Giff-Gaff makes gude friends.—Gie you an inch ye’ll tak an ell.
Gie a dog an ill name and he’ll soon be hang’d.
Gie the deil his due.—Glasses and lasses are bruckle ware.
God help great fowk, the poor can beg.
God ne’er sent the mouth but he sent meat wi’t.
God send you mair wit and mair siller.
Great barkers are nae biters.—Greening wives are ay greedy.
Gie a beggar a bed and he’ll pay you wi’ lice.

H

Haud a hank in your ain hand.—Hae gars a deaf man hear.
Hair and hair makes the earl’s head bare.—Hale-sale’s gude sale.
Hame is hame if it were ne’er sae hamely.
Hang them that hae nae shift, and them that hae owre mony.
Hang a thief when he’s young, and he’ll no steal when he’s auld.
Hanging’s nae better than it’s ea’d.—Hardships sinle come single.
He begs frae them that borrow’d frae him.
He brings a staff to break his ain head.
He does na ay ride when he saddles his horse.
He fells twa dogs wi’ ae stane.—He had his finger in the pye.
He gangs awa to an ill tune that never comes again.
He has a bee in his bannet lug.—He’s like a flea in a blanket.
He has gotten a bite o’ his ain bridle.
He has nae as muckle sense as a cow can haud in her faulded nieve.
He has faut of a wife that marries mam’s pet.
He has mair wit in his little finger than ye hae in a’ your bouk.
He has feather’d his nest, he may flee when he likes.
He has need of a lang spoon that sups wi’ the deil.
He has a slid grip that has an eel by the tail.
He kens na a B by a bull’s foot.—He’s no sae daft as he lets on.
He kens his ain groats amang ither fouks kail.
He’ll soon be a beggar that cannot say nay.
He loo’d mutton weel that licked where the ewe lay.
He’ll no sell his hen on a rainy day.
He may weel swim that has his head hadden up.
He never lies but when the holly’s green.
He needs maun rin that the deil drives.
He’s wise that kens whan he’s weel, and can haud himsel sae.
He’s scant o’ news that tells his father was hanged.
He’s an Aberdeen’s man, he taks his word again.
He’s a wise bairn that kens his ain father.
He’s uneo fou in his ain house that canna pike a bane in his neibour’s.
He’s a proud horse that winna bear his ain provender.
He’s like a singet cat, better than he’s likely.
He’s a worthless gudeman that’s no miss’d.
He stumbles at a strae and loups o’er a won-lyne.
He speaks like a prent-book.—He that comes unca’d sits unserv’d.
He that aught the cow gangs nearest her tail.
He that buys land buys stanes, and he that buys beef buys banes.
He that buys nuts buys shells, he that buys ale buys naithing else.
He that canna mak sport shou’d mar nane.
He that deals in dirt has ay foul fingers.
He that can near Dumback may bear Dumbarton.
He that keeps the cat’s dish keeps her ay crying.
He rises owre soon that’s hanged e’er noon.
He that gies a’ wad gies naithing.—He that has muckle gets ay mair.
He that has muckle wad ay hae mair.
He that has a gude cramp may thole some thistles.
He that has nae siller in his purse shou’d hae silk on his tongue.
He that hides is the best at seeking.
He that has a muckle nose thinks ilk ane speaks o’t.
He that hews aboon his head may get a speal in his e’e.
He that’s ill to himsel will be gude to naebody.
He that laughs at his ain joke spills the sport o’t.
He that speers a’, only gets wit o’ part.
He wad skin a loose for the tallow.
He that sleeps wi’ dogs maun rise wi’ flaes.
He’s no sae daft as he’s daft like.—His egg has ay twa youks.
He that winna when he may, he shanna when he wad.
He that woos a widow should woo her day and night.
He that wad eat the kirnel maun crack the nut.
He that will to Coupar will to Coupar.
He wad gang a mile to flit a sow.—He wad rake hell for a bodle.
He wats na whilk end o’ him’s uppermost.
He wad gar you trow that the moon’s made o’ green cheese.
He wad tine his lugs if they werna tacked to him.
His bark is war than his bite.—Hooly and fairly gangs far in a day.
Hungry dogs are blythe o’ bursten puddings.