This last reminds me of an invitation I once got from a country gentleman to go on a visit, holding out as an inducement that he would give me 'a dry bed and a wet bottle.'
'If he's not fishing he's mending his nets': said of a man who always makes careful preparations and lays down plans for any enterprise he may have in view.
'If he had a shilling in his pocket it would burn a hole through it': said of a man who cannot keep his money together--a spendthrift.
'A bird with one wing can't fly': said to a person to make him take a second glass. (Moran: Carlow.)
Protect your rights: 'Don't let your bone go with the dog.'
'An old dog for a hard road': said in commendation of a wary person who has overcome some difficulty. _Hard_ in this proverb means 'difficult.' (Moran: Carlow.)
'No use sending a boy on a man's errand': Don't be satisfied with inadequate steps when undertaking a difficult work: employ a sure person to carry out a hard task.
Oh however he may have acted towards you he has been a good friend to me at any rate; and I go by the old saying, 'Praise the ford as you find it.' This { 113} proverb is a translation from the Irish. It refers to a time when bridges were less general than now; and rivers were commonly crossed by fords--which were sometimes safe, sometimes dangerous, according to the weather.
'Threatened dogs live long.' Abuses often go on for a long time, though people are constantly complaining and threatening to correct them. (Ulster.)
He who expects a legacy when another man dies thinks the time long. 'It is long waiting for a dead man's boots.' (Moran: Carlow.)
A person waiting impatiently for something to come on always thinks the time longer than usual:--'A watched pot never boils.'
'A poor man must have a poor wedding': people must live according to their means.
'I could carry my wet finger to him': i.e. he is here present, but I won't name him.
'Oh that's all _as I roved out_': to express unbelief in what someone says as quite unworthy of credit. In allusion to songs beginning 'As I roved out,' which are generally fictitious.
'Your father was a bad glazier': said to a person who is standing in one's light.
'As the old cock crows the young cock learns': generally applied to a son who follows the evil example of his father.