Page:Scots proverbs, ancient and modern.pdf/21



21

Tak the bit and the buffet wi't--Tak me not up before I fa', Tak your ain will and then ye'll no die o' the pet. Tak a hair of the dog that bit you.—-That's Halkerton's cow. Tak nae mair on your back than you're able to carry. Tak a man by his word and a cow by her horn. Tarry hreeks pay nae fraught.--Tapped hens like cock crawing. Tell nae your fae when your foot's slipping.–-That's a tee'd ba'. That bout cam ne'er out of your bag -- The best is ay cheapest. That's carrying saut to Dysart and puddings to Tranent. That's the piece a step-bairn ne'er gat.--Time tries a'. That winna be mot i' your marriage.--The deil's ay gude to his ain. The back and the belly hands every are busy. The bairn speaks i' the field what he hears at the fireside. The bird maun flighter that flees wi' ae wing. The better day the better deed.--The warld is bound to nae man. The blind man's peck should be weel measur'd. The cure may be waur than the disease. The death o' ae bairn winna skail a house. The dorty dame may fa' i' the dirt. The deil's bairns hae deils luck The deil ay drives his hogs to an ill market. The deil's gaen ofer John Wabster.-The e'ening brings a hame. The farthest way about is aft the nearest gate hame. The richer the souter, the blacker his thumbs. The first fuf o' a fat haggis is ay the bauldest. The gravest fish is an oyster, The gravest bird's an owl; The gravest beast's an ass. And the gravest man's a fool. The kings errand may come in a cadger's gate. The langer we live we see the mair fairlies. The mae the merrier, the fewer the better cheer. The masters e'e maks the horse fat.-- The still sow eats up the draft. The simple man's the beggar's brither. The subject's love is the kings life guard. The smith's mare and the souter's wife are ay warst shod. The thiefer like the better sodger.--The tods whelps are ill to tame.