gmcdavid| Is minic a fuarthas comhairle ghlic ó amadán. | Clever advice is often gotten from a fool. | |
| Tá níos mó ná a phaidreacha aige. | He knows more than is prayers. | (He is not stupid) |
| Dhá dtreabhfadh sé an tír, chaithfeadh sé an ríocht. | If he'd plow the whole country, he would spend the kingdom. | (he's a very hard worker, but he never gets ahead because he is a spendthrift.) |
gmcdavid| gráinne | grain, single grain | m |
| pónaire | bean | f |
| Tá fhios aige cé mhéad gráinne pónaire a dhéanann cuig | He knows how many beans makes five. | "He knows what is what" |
| Tabhartas Uí Néill agus a dhá shúil ina dhiaidh. | O'Neil's gift (or favor), and his two eyes after it. | "Someone who gives you something and then draws attention to it, reminding you what a nice thing they did for you!" |
gmcdavid| Is cuid den mhuc a drioball. | the tail is part of the pig | Chip off the old block, Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, etc. |
| domhain | deep | |
| éa- | [negative prefix | |
| Is é an t-uisce is éadoimhne is mó tormán. | The shallowest water is the noisiest | |
| ní | thing, something [sometimes] | hence copula construct: ní+is→níos
No contraction in past tense: ba mhó |
gmcdavid| An té a bhíonn síos, buailtear cloch air | He who is down, is hit by a stone. | |
| agus an té bhíonn suas, óltar deoch air. | and he who is yup, drink is drunk by him | |
| taod=taghd | fit, impulse | |
| is iomaí taod a thig i lá earraigh | Many an impulse comes on a spring day | = |
gmcdavid| Seol do sheanmháthair lachain a bhleán. | Send your grandmother to milk ducks! | |
| Tá níos mo ná míolta ina cheann. | There is nore than insects in his head | |
gmcdavid| Ní raibh sé go maith ó rinne slat cóta dó. | "He hasn't been any good since a yard [of cloth] made a coat for him" | |
| Ní raibh sé ar fáil nuair a bhí a chiall á roinnt. | He was not alive when they were handing out sense. | "He was not available when his share of sense [was given]" |
gmcdavid| corr | bird, e.g. crane, stork, heron. | Suppose to be very vigilant |
| Ghoidfeadh sé an ubh ón chorr agus an chorr féin faoi dheireadh. | Someone who can steal an egg from one of these birds (and then get the bird itself) is stealthy indeed! | |
| Torann mór ar bheagan olla. | Big noise for little wool. | |
| Bíonn duilliúr állainn agus toradh searbh ar chrann na scéimhe. | Leaves are beautiful and fruit bitter on a tree of beauty |
gmcdavid| fidléireacht Shligigh ag teach as ball éigin - Lá Fhéile Pádraig |
Sligo-style fiddling coming from somewhere St. Patricks Day | Sligigh (no lenition)? |
| NÁ BEATHAIGH NA COLÚIR! RÓPHÓRÚ A THIOCFAID AS - IS SALACHAR |
DO NOT FEED THE PIGEONS! IT LEADS TO OVERBREEDING - AND FILTH! | |
| sneachta síobtha i Nua-Eabhrac – na francaigh féin mothaíonn siad é | New York blizzard – even the rats feel it | |
| ciúnas - d'fhéadfadh bláth leis éag de leamhthuirse gan léas |
stillness - a flower too can die of unrelieved boredom | |
| bheith i d'iasc órga - gan eire na cuimhne is an mhiangais ort |
to be a goldfish without the weight of memory and desire | |
| asfalt fliuch - an duine is an t-ainmhí gafa dua aige |
wet asphalt - how effortlessly it catches man and beast | |
| lá eile bríce os cionn bríce sinn go léir faoi bhallaí |
another day brick upon brick we wall ourselves in | |
| chloisfeadh páiste é - blátha is a mbaile móinéir á chaoineach acu |
a child might hear it it flowers weeping for their meadow-land home |
gmcdavid| Ná bíodh do theanga faoi do chrios. | Spit it out!/Speak your mind! | "Don't let your tongue be under your belt" |
| Ní dheachaigh sé ar scáth ann toir leis. | He spoke bluntly/He didn't pussyfoot about. | "He didn't go in the shadow of the bush with it." |
| Níorbh iontaí liom an sneachta dearg ná é. | "Red snow would not surprise me more than that." | |
| lá faoin tor | an unexpected free day | "a day under a bush" |
gmcdavid| breitheamh | judge | |
| mall | slow | |
| sliabh | mountain | |
| lig | let, allow, permit | |
| lena | with his | |
| Is breitheamh mall Dia Nach ndearna riamh ach an chóir; Chuir sé Cormac amach sa tsliabh, Agus lig sé an diabhal lena thóin. | ||
"God may be slow to judge, but he catches up with evil-doers eventually. This little ditty would be said of someone who is always getting away with bad stuff, and who finally has their "come-uppance", as they say. Cormac is just a kind of placeholder in this saying, no particular significance." — Will
( Léigh tuilleadhCollapse )gmcdavid| Mol a dheireadh. | "Praise its end" | [let's see how it turns out before we get all excited.] |
| Is mall gach cos a chasán/chosán gan eolas | "Every leg is slow on a path without knowledge" | [Slow sailing in uncharted waters] |
gmcdavid| aimhleas | harm, evil | aimhleasa, aimhlis |
| I ndiaidh a aimhlis a fheictear a leas don Éireannach. | The Irishman doesn't see what he should have done (his benefit) until after he has already done the wrong thing (his harm). | |
| ciall | sense, meaning, reason | |
| Is fearr an chiall cheannaithe ná a fáil in aisce. | "Purchased sense is better than that gotten for free." | (Experience is the best teacher) |
| Is an chiall cheannaithe is fearr. | "Purchased sense is best." | (Experience is the best teacher) |
gmcdavid| Fál um an ngort i ndiaidh na foghla. | Closing the barn doors after the horse is gone. | "A fence 'round the field after the damage is done. " |
| Shílfeá ón iompar a bhí air go mba leis an áit. | "You would think from the way that he carried himself that he owned the place." | |
| Neosfaidh an aimsir. | Time will tell | neos = inis |
gmcdavid| Dearmad bhean an tí ag an gcat. | The housewife's mistake/forgetfulness/neglect goes to the cat. | [The cat gets that milk you forget to put away, etc.] |
| Téann focal le gaoth, agus téann buille le cnámh | Sticks and stones.... | "A word goes with the wind, but a blow/strike goes to the bone." |
gmcdavid| ní | thing | |
| An iomarca d'aon ní, is ionnan agus gan aon ní. | Too much of a good thing | "An excess of a thing is the same as being wiout the thing" |
| Lig do fuarú sa gcraiceann ar théigh sé ann. | when someone is angry, let him/her cool down before you offer a reply or response. | "Let him cool in the skin he heated up in." |
gmcdavid| Ba mhaith an teachtaire le cur I gcoinne an bháis thú. | You would be a good person to send for Death! | Said of someone who dawdles, a slow-poke, just the kind of person you'd send on an errand you don't want to see completed. |
| Ní bhíonn imirce gan chaill. | No moving without loss. | |
gmcdavidWe continue to mine the proverbs collected by Robert Shipboy MacAdam, and first published in a series that ran from 1858 to 1862. For a little extra fun, I provided his original spelling:
| Old Spelling | Modern Spelling | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| séideadh | blowing | ||
| smug | smuga | mucus, snot | m |
| Is maith an sèideadh sròine do dhuine smug fhaiceal air duine eile. | Is maith an séideadh sróine do dhuine smuga fheiceáil ar duine eile. | It is a good nose blowing for a person to see snot on another person. | |
| Ma cheannaigheann tu droch-nidh, ceannochaidh tu a rìst go h-aithghearr. | Má cheannaíonn tú drochní, ceannóidh tú arís go hathghearr. | If you buy low quality, you will soon buy again. | "If you buy a bad thing, you will soon buy again." |
gmcdavid| gad | withe | A twisted bit of willow used when hemp rope was not available--used for horse harness,and to hang people! |
| Gearr an gad is foisce don scornach. | do the most urgent thing first. | cut the gad nearest the throat, to save a person or perhaps a horse whose harness has gotten hung up. |
| An té nach gcleachtann maríocht dearmadann na spoir. | Practice! | Who does not habitually practice riding forgets the spurs. |
gmcdavid| choíche | forever | |
| nach ... ach | only | |
| cochán | straw | |
| cáil | reputation | |
| bídeach | tiny | |
| socar | calm, peace; benefit, profit, advantage | |
| moch | early | |
| mall | late, slow | |
| ionat | in you | |
| fusa | easy | |
| sín | stretch | v |
| síneadh | stretching | vn of sín |
| Is tú nach mbíonn choíche ach i gcochán ach cáil bheag bhídeach de do shocar Moch nó mall a thagaim gurb ionat is fusa dom mo chosa a shíneadh | you're a dump, straw strewn about, but you're my cozy dump. | "There's no place like home" |
gmcdavid| Ná tóg mé go dtite mé | Don't pick me up until I fall. | tite subj. vs. titfidh fut. |
| Níl ansin ach "Seachain an ceann agus buain an muineál." | That's nothing but "miss the head and get the neck." | "Out of the frying pan into the fire." |
| Sin tóin na muice méithe a ghréisceadh/ | That is greasing the butt of a fat pig. | "Coals to Newcastle" |
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