W.C. Hazlitt, comp. English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases. 1907.
What tutor to When you ride
What tutor shall we find for a child of sixty years old?
What was good the friar never loved.
What will not money do?
What wind blew you hither?
What would you have? a buttered faggot?
What! would you have an ass chop logic?
What your glass told you will not be told by counsel.
Whatever is given to the poor is laid out of the reach of fortune.
What’s a crab in a cow’s mouth?
What’s a gentleman but his pleasure?
What’s freer than a gift?
What’s my wife’s is mine: what’s mine, is my own.
What’s none of my profit shall be none of my peril.
What’s the good of a sun-dial in the shade?
Wheat always lies best in wet sheets. East Anglia.
Forby’s Vocab. of East Anglia, 1830, p. 417.
Wheat is not gathered in the blade, but in the ear.
Wheat well-sown is half-grown.
Wheat will not have two praises.
Wheelwright’s (a) dog is a carpenter’s uncle. East Anglia.
“A bad wheelwright makes a good carpenter.”—Forby.
When a dog is drowning, every one offers him drink.
Quand un chien se noye / chacun lui offre a boire. Fr.
When a ewe’s drowned, she’s dead.
When a fool finds a horseshoe, / he thinks aye the like to do.
The discovery of a horseshoe was considered a good omen, and indeed much virtue has been thought to reside in the presence of one outside a house. See my Faiths and Folklore, 1905, p. 330. A larger number of horseshoes are nailed up outside Rockingham Castle, Uppingham. They have been put there by visitors from time to time, and are of all sizes and patterns. My friend Mr. H. Stopes had one over one of the doors of his offices in the Borough. It was cast by a cab-horse, while he was in the vehicle, and he jumped out, and picked it up for luck.
When a fool hath bethought himself, the market’s over.
When a friend asks, there is no to-morrow.
When a goose dances and a fool versifies, there is sport.
When a knave is in a plum-tree, he hath neither friend nor kin.
When a man grows angry, his reason rides out.
When a wise man errs, he errs with a vengeance.
When ale is in, wit is out.
When all fruit fails, welcome haws!
When all men say you are an ass, it is time to bray.
When all sins grow old, covetousness is young.
When an ass climbs a ladder, we may find wisdom in women.
When an old man will not drink, go to see him in another world.
When April blows his horn, / it’s good for hay and corn.
That is, when it thunders in April; for thunder is usually accompanied with rain.—R.
When bale is hext, / boot is next, / quoth Hendyng.
Reliq. Antiq., i. 112; “When bale is att hyest, boott is at next.”—Sir Aldingar. “When the bale is in hest, thenne is the bote nest.” “When bale is greatest, then is bote a nie bore.”—The Testament of Love (Chaucer’s Works, 1602, fol. 288 verso). When things are come to the worst, they’ll mend. Cùm duplicantur, lateres venit Moses. When the tale of bricks is doubled, then comes Moses.—Mediæval.
When bees are old they yield no honey.
When candles be out all cats be grey.
[Greek]. A nuit tous les chats sont gris.—Fr. De noche todos los gatos son pardos. Span.—R.
When children stand quiet, they have done some harm.
When clubs are trumps, Aldermaston house shakes.
Lysons (Berkshire, 1230–1) does not refer to this tradition, nor does Pettigrew in his paper on Amy Robsart, 1859. In England’s Gazetteer, 1751, the name is spelled Aldermarston. The house was almost rebuilt in 1636 by Sir Humphrey Forster, but the family seems to have been settled there at least as early as 1472. Aldermarston overlooks the river Kennet, and is three miles from Alchester, eight from Reading. The property subsequently passed to the Stawells and the Congreves. In 1712 the Ledbetters were in possession.
The Forsters are more popularly celebrated in connection with the other residence which they had at Cumnor Place, near Abingdon, the scene of Amy Robsart’s death.
When Dighton is pulled down.
Hull shall become a great town. Yorkshire.
This is rather a prophecy than a proverb [or more properly speaking, it may be said to be one of those proverbs which turn upon a prophecy (seldom, by the by, fulfilled)]. Dighton is a small town, not a mile distant from Hull, and was in the time of the late war for the most part pulled down. Let Hull make the best they can of it.—R. 1670.
When Dudman and Ramhead meet. Cornwall.
“These are two forelands, well known to sailors, nigh twenty miles asunder; and the proverb passeth for the periphrasis of an impossibility.”—R.
When every one gets his own, you’ll get the gallows.
When every one takes care of himself, care is taken of all.
When flatterers meet, the devil goes to dinner.
When fools throw stools, wise men must take heed of their shins.
Rice Boye, Just Defence of the Importunate Beggers Importunity, 1636, p. 12.
When fortune smiles on thee, take advantage.
New Help to Discourse, 1721, p. 134.
When foxes preach, beware your geese.
“Yet whiles I preache, beware the Geese, for so it shall behoue.”—The Foxe to the Huntesman in the Noble Art of Venerie, 1575, Gascoigne’s Works, by Hazlitt, i. 414, ii. 318. Le renard preche aux poules. Fr.
When friends meet, hearts warm.
When God will, no wind but brings rain.
Deus undecunque juvat modò propitius.—Eras. La ou Dieu veut, il pleut. Fr.
When gold speaks, you may hold your tongue.
The Italians say, Dove l’oro parla, ogni lingua tace.
When good cheer is lacking, / our friends will be packing.
El pan comido la compaña deshecha. Span.—R.
When Halden hath a hat, / Kenton may beware a skat.
This often-quoted [Devonshire] saying is curiously illustrated by a passage from the romance of Sir Gawayn and the Grene Knicht (Madden’s Sir Gawayn, p. 77):
When he dies for age, ye may quake for fear.
When he should work, every finger is a thumb.
When honour grew mercenary, money grew honourable.
When I am dead, make me a caudle.
Observations on L’Estrange’s Comment on Æsop, 1700, p. 87–8.
When I have thatched his house, he would throw me down.
[Greek]. I have taught thee to dive, and thou seekest to drown me.—R.
When I lent, I was a friend: / when I asked, I was unkind.
MS. of the 16th cent., in Rel. Antiq., i. 208.
When ill-luck falls asleep, let nobody wake her.
When it gangs up i’ sops, / it’ll fau down i’ drops.
A North Country proverb, the sops being the small detached clouds hanging on the sides of a mountain.—Halliwell.
When it pleaseth not God, the saint can do little.
When it rains pottage, you must hold up your dish.
When it thunders, the thief becomes honest.
When it’s dark at Dover, / it is dark all the world over.
Skeat’s ed. of Pegge’s Kenticisms, 88.
When love is in the case, the doctor’s an ass.
When Luna lowers, / then April showers.
Taylor’s Shilling, or the Travailes of Twelve Pence [1622].
When maidens sue, men live like gods.
When many strike on an anvil, they must strike by measure.
When meat is in anger is out.
When millers toll not with a golden thumb.
Gascoigne’s Works, by Hazlitt, ii. 211.
When my head’s down, my house is theekit.
When my house burns, ’tis not good playing at chess.
When my ship comes home.
i.e., When I get some money. This expression is still (1906) very common, and appears to have come down to us from the time when merchant adventure was one of the characteristics of the age, and when the arrival of a single ship with a rich cargo was perhaps sufficient to lay the foundation of a moderate fortune. But many persons still depend for their living on their interest as sharers in a ship or ships.
When old age is evil, youth can learn no good.
When one biddeth thee, it is no sin to drink.
MS. of the 15th cent., ap. Retr. Rev., 3rd. S., ii. 309.
When Oxford draws knife, England is soon at strife.
Green, Hist. of Engl. People, 1881, i. 202. In reference to the early tumultuous struggles on religious matters at Oxford.
When passion entereth at the foregate, wisdom goeth out of the postern.
When prayers are done, my lady is ready.
When pride rides, shame lacqueys.
When riches increase, the body decreaseth.
“For,” observes Ray, “most men grow old before they grow rich.”
When sharpers prey upon one another, there’s no game abroad.
When the age is in, the wit is out.
Much Ado about Nothing, iii. v.
When the barn’s full, you may thresh before the door.
When the bell begins to toll, / Lord have mercy on the soul.
When the belly is full the bones would be at rest.
When the cat is away, / the mice may play.
The Batchellors Banquet, 1603, ed. 1677, sign. B 2. Heywood’s Woman Kilde with Kindnesse, 1607, repr. 141. “Les rats se promenent à l’aise, là ou il n’y a point de chats. Fr. Quando la gatta non è in casa, i sorici ballano. Ital. Vanse los gatos, y estiendense los ratos. Span.”—R.
When the Charleses wear a cap, the clouds weep. Sussex.
See Lower’s History of Sussex, 1870, i. 39, 40.
When the child’s christened, you may have godfathers enough.
New Help to Discourse, 1721, p. 135.
When the crow flees, her tail follows.
When the crow’s feet grow under her eyes.
Gascoigne’s Works, by Hazlitt, ii. 65.—A metaphrase for advancing years.
When the cuckoo picks up the dirt.
i.e., In April. A metaphor for the arrival of spring and fair weather.
When the cup is fullest, bear yourself most moderately, quoth Hendyng.
P. of H. (Reliq. Antiq., i. 112). “When the coppe is follest, thenne ber hire feyrest, quoth Hendyng,” i.e., be moderate in prosperity.
When the daughter is stolen, shut Pepper Gate. Chester.
See Strutt’s Sports and Pastimes, ed. Hone, 95. “Pepper gate, says Grose, was a postern on the east side of the city of Chester. The mayor of the city having his daughter stolen away by a young man through that gate, whilst she was playing at ball with the other maidens, his worship, out of revenge, caused it to be closed up.”—R. Comp. When the steed, &c.,—the later form, which is in Heywood. And see Lysons, M. B. Cheshire, 613. Pepper Gate was also known as Woolffield or Woolf Gate, and led to Pepper Street.
When the devil is blind.
When the devil prays, he has a booty in his eye.
When the devil’s a hog, you shall eat bacon.
When the devil’s a vicar, thou shalt be his clerk.
When the devil’s dead, there is a wife for Humphrey.
When the dog is beaten out of the room, where will they lay their stink?
When the drink goes in, the wit goes out.
It is observed by good housewives that milk is thicker in the autumn than in the summer, notwithstanding the grass must be more hearty, the juice of it being better concocted by the heat of the sun in summer-time. I conceive the reason to be, because the cattle drink water abundantly by reason of their heat in summer, which doth much dilute their milk.—R. 1670.
When the fox is full, he pulleth geese.
MS. of the 15th cent. cited in Retrosp. Rev., ii. 309 (3rd S.)
When the friar’s beaten, then comes James.
Walker’s Parœmiologia, 1672. p. 10. [Greek].
When the frog and mouse would take up the quarrel, the kite decided it.
When the good man is from home, the good wife’s table is soon spread.
When the head acheth, all the body is the worse.
When the head is hot, the hand is ready.
When the heart is afire, some sparks will fly out of the mouth.
When the horse is starved, you bring him oats.
When the house is burnt down, you bring water.
When the husband drinks to the wife, all would be well; when the wife drinks to the husband, all is well.
When the husband is fire and the wife tow, the devil easily sets them in a flame.
When the iron is hot, strike.
When the maggot bites.
On the spur of the moment.
When the maid leaves the door open, the cat’s in fault.
When the mare hath a bald face, the filly will have a blaze.
When the moon’s in the fall, then wit’s in the wane.
When the old dog barks, he giveth counsel.
When the old hen hatched such eggs, the devil was in the cockscomb.
Pappe with an Hatchet, 1589, sign. C 2 verso.
When the ox falls, there are many that will help to kill him.
When the pig is proffered, hold up the poke.
Quando te dieren la vaquilla, acude con la soguilla. Span. Never refuse a good offer.—R.
When the pot boils over, it cooleth itself.
When the psalm is ended, we then sing the Gloria.
When the shepherd is angry with the sheep, he sends them a blind guide.
When the sky falleth, we shall have larks.
When the steed is stolen, shut the stable-door.
Marriage of Wit and Wisdom, circa 1570. Sh. Soc. ed. 55. “Now the horse is stolen, I shut the stable door.”—Fulwell’s Like Will to Like, 1568. “Serrar la stalla quando s’han perduti i buovi. Ital. A tort ferme l’om l’estable, quant le cheval est perduz” O. Fr. Despues de ydo el conejo, tomamos el consejo. Span. Quandoquidem accepto claudenda est ianua damno.—Juv. Sat., 13. Sero elypeum post vulnera sumo.—Ovid. [Greek].—Lucian.”—R. Compare When the daughter, &c.
When the sun is highest, he casts the least shadow.
When the sun shineth make hay.
Noctes Templariæ, 1599 (Manning’s Mem. of Sir B. Ruddyerd).
When the wares be gone, shut up the shop-windows.
If the wind is in the east on the 21st March, when the sun crosses the line, it is said that it will continue there a long time. But this is not so.
When the wine is run out, you’d stop the leak.
When thrift’s in the town, then some are in the field.
When thy neighbour’s house doth burn, be careful of thine own.
Tua res agitur paries cum proximus ardet.—R. The saying, a little varied, occurs in a News Letter of 1641.
When Tom’s pitcher is broken I shall have the sheards.
Kindness after others are done with it, the refuse.—R.
When trading fails, to turn tippler.
When two friends have a common purse, one sings and the other weeps.
When two Sundays come together.
Haughton’s Englishmen for my Money, written about 1598 (Hazlitt’s Dodsley, x. 502).
When we do ill, the devil tempteth us; when we do nothing, we tempt him.
When we have gold, we are in fear; when we have none, we are in danger.
When whins are out of bloom, kissing is out of fashion.
Whins are never out of bloom. The same may be said of groundsel.—D. And of furze or gorse.
When wine sinks, words swim.
When you are all agreed upon the time, quoth the Vicar, I’ll make it rain.
This is a good satire on those (fools or hypocrites, or both?) who command prayers for wet or dry weather.
When you are at Rome, do as Rome does.
When you die, your trumpeter will be buried.
When you go to dance, take heed whom you take by the hand.
When you have no observers, be afraid of yourself.
When you ride a colt, see your saddle be girt.
New Help to Discourse, 1721, p. 134.