Ирландские пословицы и поговорки

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
About evening a man is known.
A boys best friend is his mother and there's no spancel stronger than her apron string.
A buckle is a great addition to an old shoe.
A closed mouth--a wise head
A dishonest woman can't be kept in and an honest woman won't.
A fool and his money are easily parted.
A foolish woman knows a foolish man's faults
After the gathering comes the scattering
A golden ring can tie a man as tight as any chain.
A good beginning is half the work.
A greyhound finds food in its feet.
A guest should be blind in another man's house.
A handstaff of holly, a buailtin of hazel,a single sheaf and a clean floor.
A heavy purse makes a light heart.
A hut is a palace to a poor man.
A Kerry shower is of twenty-four hours.
A king's son is not nobler than his food.
A list full of gain and a village full of shame.
A little dog can start a hare, but it takes a big one to catch it.
A little pleases a poor man back to top
A live dog is better than a dead lion.
All happy endings are beginnings as well.
A loud voice can make even the truth sound foolish.
A man of one cow-a man of no cow.
A man is no more encumbered by his soul than the steed by his bridle or the lake by the swan.
A man is shy in another man's corner.
A man may be his own ruin.
A man who holds good cards would never say if they were dealt wrong.
A man with a loud laugh makes truth itself seem folly, Truth is great and will win out
A meeting in sunlight is lucky, and a burying in the rain.
A misty winter brings a pleasant spring, a pleasant winter a misty spring.
A narrow neck keeps the bottle from being emptied in one swig.
An excuse is nearer to a woman than her apron
An eye is blind in another man's corner.
A nod is as good as a wink to a blind donkey.
An old broom knows the dirty corners best.
Any man can lose his hat in a fairy- wind.
Any man who owns a cow can always find a woman to milk her.
A poem ought to be well made at first, for there is many a one to spoil it afterwards.
A postponement till morning A postponement for ever.
A promise is a debt
A ring on a good woman's finger is no good without a blouse on her back.
A scholars ink lasts longer than a martyrs blood
As honest as a cat when the meat is out of reach.
A secret is a weapon and a friend.
A shamefaced man seldom acquires wealth.
A short visit is best and that not too often.
A shrew gets her wish but suffers in the getting.
A silent mouth is musical.
A silent mouth is sweet to hear.
A silent mouth never did any harm.
A sly rogue is often in good dress.
A smokey cabin, a handful of spuds and a flea-filled bed
A soft dropping April brings milk to cows and sheep.
A spender gets the property of the hoarder
As the old cock crows the young cock learns.
A story without an author is not worth listening to.
A trout in the pot is better than a salmon in the sea.
A turkey never voted for an early Christmas.
Autumn days come quickly like the running of a hound on the moor.
A watched kettle never boils.
A wedge from itself splits the oak tree.
A welcome is a debtor's face
A whistling woman and a crowing hen will bring no luck to the house they are in.
A wild goose never reared a tame gosling.
A windy day is the wrong one for thatching.
A wise head keeps a shut mouth
A woman can beat the devil.
A woman like a goose, a sharp pecking woman
A woman like a pig, a sleepy-headed woman
A woman like a sickle, a strong stubborn woman
A woman like a goat, a woman of rushing visits
A woman like a sheep, an affable friendly woman
A woman like a lamb, a quiet friendly woman
A woman without is she who has neither pipe nor child
A wren in the hand is better than a crane to be caught.
Beef to the heels like a Mullingar heifer
Be kind to those that meet you as you rise, you may pass them again as you fall.
Be there with the day and be gone with the day.
Better an idle house than a bad tenant.
Better April showers than the breadth of the ocean in gold.
Better for a man to have even a dog welcome him than a dog bark at him
Better own a trifle than want a great deal.
Better sit beside him than in his place.
Better the certainty of the straddle (packsaddle) than the mere loan of a saddle.
Better is the trouble that follows death than the trouble that follows shame.
Big bellies were never generous.
Big men are not the only kind that can reap a harvest.
By degrees the castles are built.
Castles were built a stone at a time.
Constant company wears out its welcome.
Discord is less painful than loneliness.
Do it as if there was fire in your skin.
Do not be talkative in an alehouse.
Do not keep your tongue under your belt.
Do not mistake a goats beard for a fine stallions tail
Don't bid the devil good day till you meet him.
Don't bless the fish till it gets to the land.
Don't build the sty until the litter comes
Don't count your chickens before they are hatched
Don't be ever in court or a castle without a woman to make your excuse.
Don't go early or late to the well.
Don't let your tongue cut your throat
Don't mention him and a decent man in the one day.
Don't rest your eyes beyond what is your own.
Don't say everything you want to say lest you hear something you would not like to hear
Don't tell secrets to the children of your relatives.
Don't tell your complaint to one who has no pity.
Don't tell your secret even to a fence.
Don't throw out the dirty water until you have the clean water in.
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you fight with your neighbour. It makes you shoot at your landlord and it makes you miss him.
Drunkenness and anger, 'tis said tell the truth.
E ight lives for the men and nine for the women.
Even a tin knocker shines on a dirty door.
Even black hens lay white eggs.
Even the truth may be bitter.
Every bird as it is reared and the lark for the bog.
Everyone is wise till he speaks.
Everyone lays a burden on the willing horse.
Everyone praises his native land.
Every patient is a doctor after his cure.
Everything dear is a woman's fancy.
Everything troubles you and the cat breaks your heart.
Fair words never fed a friar.
Fat is not to be had without labour.
Fences (ditches) have ears.
Firelight will not let you read fine stories but its warm and you wont see the dust on the floor.
Food is no more important than wisdom, The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.
For what cannot be cured, patience is best
God is good, but never dance in a small boat.
Going in is not the same as going out.
Great mansions have slippery doors.
Great talk and little action.
Half a loaf is better than no bread.
Handfuls make a load.
Have it yourself, or else do without it
He couldn't drag a herring off the coals
He'd offer you an egg if you promised not to break the shell.
He dotes on his midden and thinks it the moon.
He got it from nature as the pig got the rooting in the ground.
He knows how many grains to a bushel of wheat
He knows the price of everything and the value of nothing
He may die of wind but he'll never die of wisdom.
He's more to be pitied than laughed at.
He thinks that he himself is the very stone that was hurled at the castle.
He was never good since the time a yard (of cloth) made a coat for him.
He who is best for me is he who shall get the best share.
He who pays the piper calls the tune.
He who spies is the one who kills.
His own wound is what everyone feels soonest.
Humor to a man is like a feather pillow. It is filled with what is easy to get but gives great comfort.
Idleness is a fool's desire.
If a cat had a dowry, she would often be kissed.
If a rogue deceives me once, shame on him. If he deceives me twice, shame on me.
It destroys the craft not to learn it.
If it's a secret, it's binding.
If it's got badly, it'll go badly.
If you don't know the way, walk slowly.
If you don't want flour on your shoes, don't go into the mill.
If you have a roving eye, it's no use having the other one fixed on Heaven.
If you have one pair of good soles its better than two pairs of good uppers.
If you lie down with dogs you'll rise with fleas.
If you lend your coat, don't cut off the buttons.
If you meet a red-haired woman, you'll meet a crowd.
If you put a silk dress on a goat he is a goat still.
If the knitter is weary, the baby will have no new bonnet.
I'll go there tonight for evening is speedier than morning.
In winter the milk goes to the cow's horns.
Irishwomen have a dispensation from the pope to wear the thick ends of their legs downwards.
It is a hard task to comfort the proud.
It is a lonely washing that has no man's shirt in it.
It is better to be born lucky than rich.
It is difficult to soothe the proud.
It is no secret that is known to three.
It is no shame to tell the truth.
It is no time to go for the doctor when the patient is dead.
It is not the most beautiful woman who has the most sense.
It is the deaf people that create the lies.
back to top
It's a bad hen that won't scratch herself.
It's a bad hound that's not worth the whistling
It's as hard to see a woman crying as it is to see a barefooted duck.
It's a small thing that outlives a man
It's bad manners to talk about ropes in the house of a man whose father was hanged.
It's better than it's want.
It's better than the loan you couldn't get.
It's better to be sorry and stay, than to be sorry and go away.
It's better to return from the centre of the ford than drown in the flood.
It's difficult to choose between two blind goats.
It's difficult to trust a woman.
It's easy to knead when meal is at hand.
It's for her own good that the cat purrs.
It's hard to take britches off bare hips.
It's just a wisp in place of a brush.
It's no delay to stop to edge the tool.
It's no use boiling your cabbage twice
It's no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking.
It's not worth a cuckoo-spit.
It's often a man's mouth broke his nose.
Keep your tongue in your jaw and your tow in your pump.
Least said soonest mended.
Leave the bad tale where you found it.
Let your bargain suit your purpose.
Like an Irish wolf she barks at her own shadow
Limerick was, Dublin is, and Cork shall be the finest city of the three.
Little talk is easy to cure.
Long churning makes bad butter.
Long loneliness is better than bad company.
Make hay while the sun shines.
Making the beginning is one third of the work.
Man to the hills, woman to the shore.
Many a defect is seen in the poor man.
Many a happy colt makes a fine horse.
Many an Irish property was increased by the lace of a daughter's petticoat.
Many a sudden change takes place on a spring day.
Many hands make light work.
Marriages are all happy; its having breakfast together that causes all the trouble
Men are like bagpipes-no sound comes from them until they're full.
More hair than tit, like a mountain heifer.
Nature will come through the claws, and the hound will follow the hare.
Neighbours bring comfort in adversity but only envy in success.
Never ask a fox to mind the hens.
Never buy bread from a butcher.
Never call a Kerry man a fool until you're sure he's not a rogue.
Never give cherries to pigs or advice to fools.
Never praise your son-in-law until the year is out.
Never put off tomorrow what you can do today.
Never rub your eye with anything but your elbow.
Never sleep with a stranger or borrow from a neighbour.
Never speak to the feet while the head is alive.
Never trust a spiteful man.
Nobody ever bought peace but the man who hadn't got it.
No dealing with a revengeful man.
No forcing the sea
No matter how often a pitcher goes to the water it is broken in the end
No matter how tall your grandfather was, you have to do your own growing.
No matter who succeeds or fails, the peacemaker will always suffer.
No-one is ever poor who has the sight of his eyes and the use of his feet. A poor man never yet lost his property
No rearing, no manners.
No stopping the force of a going wheel by hand.
No tree but has rotten wood enough to burn it.
Often a cow does not take after its breed.
One beetle recognizes another.
One eye in the corner is sharper than two about the house
One man's meat is another man's poison.
One pair of good soles is worth two pairs of upper leathers.
One who is without cows must be his own dog. A blind man can see his mouth.
Only a fool would prefer food to a woman
Only the rich can afford compassion.
Only those who were born to hang are not afraid of the water.
Patience and forbearance make a bishop of his reverence.
Patience can conquer destiny.
Patience cures many an old complaint.
Patience is a plaster for all sores
Patience is a virtue that causes no shame
Peace(quietness) is worth buying.
Pity him who makes his opinions a certainty
Pity the man who does wrong and is poor as well.
Pity the man who has a stranger's spancel on him.
Poor is the church without music
Poor men take to the sea; the rich to the mountains.
Possession is nine-tenths of the law.
Possession satisfies
Poverty creates sadness
Poverty is no shame.
Poverty parts good company
Praise the ford when you have crossed it
Praise the ripe field not the green corn
Praise the young and they will make progress
Pride comes before a fall
Pride feels no pain.
Proverbs cannot be contradicted
Put a beggar on horseback and he'll ride to hell
Put it on your shoulder and say it is not a burden.
Red sky at night is a shepherds delight, red sky in the morning is a shepherds warning.
Remember even if you loose all, keep your good name for if you loose that you are worthless.
Reputations last longer than lives.
Scattering is easier than gathering.
See not what you see and hear not what you hear.
Sending the goose on a message to the fox's den.
Sense doesn't come before age.
Shame is ever a part of poverty.
She wipes the plate with the cat's tail.
She would drink the cream and say the cat she had was an old rogue.
Show the fatted calf but not the thing that fattened him.
Snuff at a wake is fine if there's nobody sneezing over the snuff box.
Soft words butter no parsnips but they won't harden the heart of the cabbage either.
Soft words butter no turnips.
Sow early and mow early
Speed and accuracy do not agree.
Spread your cloth only as you can draw it.
Strength is not enduring.
Sweet is the voice of the man who has wealth.
Take gifts with a sigh most men give to be paid.
Tell the truth and shame the devil.
That's a spoon ye'll sup sorrow with yet.
The apple falls on the head that's under it.
The best looking-glass is the eyes of a friend.
The best way to keep loyalty in a man's heart is to keep money in his purse.
The bird that can sing and won't sing should be made to sing.
The blacksmith's horse and the cobbler's wife are always the last to have shoes.
The cat is always dignified, until the dog comes by.
The dog that's always on the go, is better than the one that's always curled up.
The doorstep of a great house is slippery.
The early bird catches the worm.
The early riser gets through his business but not through early rising.
The end of a feast is better than the beginning of a fight.
The English always credit the rest of us with the qualities they don't need themselves.
The eye should be blind in the home of another.
The fox never found a better messenger than himself.
The full man does not understand the wants of the hungry.
The full stomach does not understand the empty one.
The hand goes only where the leg goes.
The heavier the purse, the lighter the heart.
The horse with the most scars is the one that highest kicks his rear.
The Irish forgive their great men when they are safely buried.
The longest road out is the shortest road home.
The man who was dividing Ireland didn't leave himself last.
The mason who strikes often is better than the one who strikes too hard.
The money-maker (profiteer) is never tired.
The older the fiddle the sweeter the tune
The old pipe gives the sweetest smoke.
The one who waits the fine day, will get the fine day.
The person of the greatest talk is the person of the least work.
The person who brings a story to you will take away two from you.
The pride of women and the pride of priests.
The proverb cannot be bettered.
The quiet pigs eat all the draff.
The rabbit gets fat on what the hare misses.
There are as many good fish in the sea as ever came out of it.
There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught.
There are three creatures beyond ruling- a mule, a pig and a woman.
There are two tellings to every story
There is a crock of gold in the tomb of every chieftain, but they are all guarded by cats and fairies.
There is misfortune only where there is wealth.
There is no pain greater than the pain of rejection.
There is no smoke without fire.
There is not a tree in Heaven that is higher than the tree of patience.
There is nothing in the world so poor as going to hell.
There is nothing sharper than a woman's tongue.
There is no thing wickeder than a woman of evil temper.
There is no virtue in the herb that is not got in time.
There'll be white blackbirds before an unwilling woman ties the knot
There never was an old slipper but there was an old stocking to match it.
There's a fool born every minute- and every one of them lives!
There's as many good horses in carts as in coaches.
There's little to choose between two blind goats.
There's little value in the single cow.
There's many a good tune played on an old fiddle.
There's many a ship lost within sight of harbour.
There's neither success nor efficiency without authority and laws.
There's no need to fear the wind if your haystacks are tied down.
There's no wise man without a fault
There's trouble in every house and some in he street
There was never a scabby sheep in a flock that didn't like to have a comrade.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions
The road to Heaven is well signposted, but it is badly lit at night.
The secret of an old woman scolding.
The seeking for one thing will find another.
The silent are often guilty.
The slow horse reaches the mill.
The slow hound often has good qualities.
The smaller the cabin the wider the door.
The stars make no noise.
The sty before the litter.
The sweat of one's brow is what burns everyone.
The thief is no danger to the beggar.
The tongue ties knots that the teeth cannot loosen.
The waiting man thinks the time long.
The well-filled belly has little understanding of the empty.
The windy day is not the day for thatching.
The wood will renew the foliage it sheds.
The world's quiet and the pig is in the sty.
The youngest thorns are the sharpest.
The young shed many skins.
Those who get the name of rising early may lie all day
Though the proverb is abandoned, it is not falsified.
Though wisdom is good in the beginning it is better at the end
Time and Patience would bring the snail to Jerusalem.
Time is a good story-teller
'Tis afterwards that everything is understood.
'Tis as hard to see a woman cry, as a goose go barefoot
To be red-haired is better than to be without a head
To every cow its calf; to every book its copy.
To put off repentance is dangerous.
To the fighting man peace is sure
To the raven her own chick is white.
Trouble hates nothing as much as a smile.
Truth speaks even though the tongue were dead
Truth stands when everything else falls
Two things that go for loss-turf on a mountain and the wisdom of a poor man.
Watching is a part of good play.
We have a fine day more often than a kiln-cast.
What butter and whiskey will not cure there's no cure for
What is in the marrow is hard to take out of the bone.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
What I'm afraid to hear I'd better say first myself.
What is nearest the heart is nearest the mouth.
What's all the world to a man when his wife is a widow.
What will come from the briar but the berry.
What would a young cat do but eat mice?
What would shame him would turn back a funeral.
When a heifer is far from home she grows longer horns.
When all fruits fail welcome haws
When a man gets his feet in lime he cannot easily get rid of it.
When the apple is ripe, it will fall.
When the fruit is scarcest, its taste is sweetest.
When the old woman is hard pressed, she has to run
When the sky falls we'll catch larks.
When wrathful words arise a closed mouth is soothing
Where comes a cow the wiseman lay down(St.Colmcille), there follows a woman, and where comes a woman follows trouble.
Wherever there are women there's talking, and wherever there's geese there's cackling
Whoever the cap fits, takes it.
Willful waste makes woeful want.
Wind from the east is good for neither man nor beast.
Wisdom is what makes a poor man a king, a weak person powerful, a good generation of a bad one, a foolish man reasonable.
Without pressing too little or too hard, hold tight the reins for he's a fool who would not get value from a borrowed horse
Woe to the man that entrusts his secrets to a ditch.
Women are shy and shame prevents them from refusing a man.
Women are stronger than men, they do not die of wisdom.
You can keep away from the rogue, but you cannot keep yourself safe from the liar.
You can kill a dog more way than by choking it with butter.
You can take a man out of the bog, but you can't take the bog out of the man.
You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
You can't build a barrel round a bung hole.
You can't put a wide head on young shoulders.
You couldn't make half a football team out of all the Leinster men in Heaven.
You didn't turn up when sense was being distributed.
You kissed the blarney stone.
You'll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.
You must crack the nuts before you can eat the kernel.
You must empty a box before you fill it again.
You never miss the water till the well has run dry.
Youth likes to wander.

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