Irish Sayings

I was surprised at how many of these sayings I heard my Granny say over the years.



Irish Sayings


As thieving as a fox's snout

Beauty won't make the pot boil

May you live and wear it

May the face of every good news and the back
of every bad news be towards us

As hard as the hob of hell

As cunning as the fox

As deep as the sea

As bashful as a girl

As slow as a late dinner

As dull as ditch water

As swift as a hare

As true as the gospel

As long as a wet Sunday

It's hard to teach an old dog to dance.

As the cock crows, the young bird chirps

To be old and decayed dishonors no-one

In youth we have our troubles before us;
in age we leave pleasure behind.

As busy as a bee

As salty as the sea

As good as gold

As old as the hills

As bitter as thick milk

As crooked as ram's horn

As brown as a berry

Street angel, house devil.

When the twig hardens, it's difficult to twist it.

A man lives long in his native place.

As tough as a wheel string.

As mim as a dog without his tail.

A black hen lays white eggs.

A buckle is a great addition to an old shoe.

Nobility listens to art

As stiff as a poker

Old burdens don't incite blows.

Red-hot ashes are easily rekindled.

An inch is a great deal in a man's nose.

It's not the bones that are beautiful but the flesh on the shoulders.

Its appearances are better than its value.

Handsome is as handsome does.

Young people don't know what age is;
old people forget what youth was.

Is it not a lonesome thing to be getting old.

There's anger in an open laugh.

It's no use going to the goat's house to look for wool

It's hard to fight with the wide ocean

An empty bag won't stand

You can't draw blood out of a turnip

You won't make a rope from the sand of the sea

It's only the Lord can make a racehorse out of a jackass

The devil couldn't do it unless he was drunk

Tis no use talking when the harm is done

It is the hope of recompense that ruins the card player.

Better a son of a gambler than a drinker

The expectation of success is what beggars the gambler

Crafty advice is often got from a fool

A wise man takes advice

A ring on her finger and not a stitch of clothes on her back.

Take gifts with a sigh most men give to be paid

It is worth going to meet generosity that is slow

A gentle answer quenches anger

God moves slowly yet his grace comes

God never closes one door but he opens another

The person not taught by God is not taught by man

A kind word never broke anyone's mouth

God often pays debts without money

The love of God guides every good

Man talks but God directs

God helps him that helps himself

A good thing is improved by increasing it

Good begets good

Everything good is used in little pieces

It's the jewel that can't be got that is the most beautiful

The man without eyes is no judge of beauty

A good laugh and a long sleep the best cures in a doctor's book

A man is often a bad adviser to himself and a good adviser to another.