Proverbial Sayings

Is fada le fer bfurnaide.

(is * long * with * man * of waiting)

Times passes slowly when you're waiting for something.

This proverb, quoted in DIL s.v. "furnaide", is found in the Irish Grammatical Tracts edited by Bergin in Ériu in the form "fada le fer bfurnoidhe". Modern versions vary, the fullest being "Is fada le fear fionraí feitheamh." The word "fionraí" is the modern reflex of the Middle Irish "furnaide", with metathesis of 'rn' to 'nr'.

Is uisce do loch insin.

(is * water * to * lake * that)

That is (like carrying) water to a lake.

Carrying water to a lake, or "coals to Newcastle" as the English saying goes, is a pointless undertaking. The phrase is found at LU 274, in a fragment of "Lebor Bretnach". The entire sentence is "Ferta tra Pátraic do innisin dúibsi, a fhiru Hérend, is usce do loch insin." (To tell you, men of Ireland, the miracles of Patrick, that is water to a lake.)

Ní gnáth orgain cen scéola.

(not * usual * massacre * without * survivor)

However harsh the battle, someone usually survives to tell the tale.

In "Scél Tuain meic Cairill" in LU, Tuan says "ar ní gnáth orgain cen scéola do ernam esi do innisin scél dara n-esi; is mesi dano in fer sin" (for it is not usual for there to be battle-slaughter without a survivor to escape to tell the tale afterwards, and I am indeed that man). The word "scéola", which can be translated as "news-bearer" or "survivor", is derived from "scél" (tale, news). The ninth entry for the year 1582 in the Annals of the Four Masters says "gé nách gnáth ár gan élóidhtheach" (although a battle without a fugitive is not usual). Modern formulations given in "A Miscellany" are "Níl cath dá mhéid nach dtigeann duine as," and "Is cruaidh an cath ó nach dtig fear innsidh an sgéil."

Na sluaig na saiget segair.

(the * armies * that not * attack * is/are attacked)

Armies that don't attack are attacked.

In other words, "offense is the best defense". This proverbial advice appears as a line of verse in "Bóroma", in "Silva Gadelica" (381.17). For other versions, see DIL S 21.69-72.

Is súail ní is budi ri bocht.

(is * trifling * thing * that is * grateful * to * poor man)

A poor man is thankful for even small things.

This saying is found in the versified collection "Diambad messe bad rí réil", an LL text. It survives in the modern language as "Is buí le bochd an beagán." A similar modern proverb from Ó Longáin's Collection (published in "A Miscellany") is "Is ait leis na daoine dealbha an bhláthach." (The destitute are happy with buttermilk.)

Oscar cách i ceird araili.

(ignorant * everyone * in * craft * of another)

Everyone is ignorant in another's craft.

In other words, knowing how to write a legal contract doesn't qualify you to repair brakes or set a broken bone. If you want it done right, leave it to a qualified professional. This proverb is quoted repeatedly in the Laws, in "Bretha Nemed Toísech" (CIH 2215.13, 2221.21) and at CIH 1147.1, and is quoted in O'Davoren's Glossary, where "oscar" is glossed as "aineolach". "Ainb" (ignorant) is used in place of "oscar" at CIH 2221.20. A line in "Immacallam in Dá Thúarad" dovetails quite neatly with this advice. When the poet Néide expounds his vision of the perfect society of the future, he says it will be fruitful, peaceful, and well-ordered. One of the characteristics of this perfect world is that everyone sticks to his own trade: "cách dia cheird", literally "everyone to his craft".

Cía báidit cenna ní báidit mbruighe.

(although * expire * heads * not * expire * lands)

Although leaders vanish, lands do not.

This proverb, although preserved in the Laws (and quoted in DIL at B 14.24-5), suggests a general application outside a legal context, similar perhaps to Ecclesiastes 1:4: "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever." See also "In bith-sa is bith cáich ar uair" in this collection.

Ní·fognai lám láim.

(not serves * hand * hand)

A hand does not serve a hand.
There is no subservience between equals.

This proverb is preserved in the Laws and quoted in DIL at F 237.31-2.

Tigedhus do bheith gan mnaoi,
as iomramh luinge gan laoi.

(household * for * being * without * woman /
is * rowing * of boat * without * rudder)

A household to be without a wife
is the rowing of a rudderless boat.

A half stanza from "Buile Shuibhne" (lines 832-3).

Toll taobh ó bheith gan bhráthair.

(pierced / broken * side * from * being * without * brother)

A side is broken without a brother. = It is not good to stand alone.

This proverb is found in "Buile Shuibhne", where it stands as the fourth line of the following stanza (lines 822-5):

Baoth comairle gach mic mhir
ag nach mairid a shinnsir,
amail as crom craobh fo chnoibh,
toll taobh ó bheith gan bhráthair.

The well-known modern version is "Is maol gualainn gan bhráthair" (a shoulder is bare without a brother).