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Washington, United States
loves: you win if you guessed "pets" and "museums". Also books, art history, travel, British punk, Korean kimchi, bindis, martinis, and other things TBD. I will always make it very clear if a post is sponsored in any way. Drop me a line at thepetmuseum AT gmail.com !

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

as nice as a nun's hen

british library (PD)
"As nice as a nun's hen." Now there's a proverb I haven't heard before.  I found it in Select Proverbs of All Nations: Illustrated With Notes And Comments, a book compiled by John Wade in 1825.  I also found such gems as the following:
  • As wise as Waltham's calf, that ran nine miles to suck a bull.
  • Child's pig but father's bacon. (Refers to the promises that parents make and often fail to keep.)
  • The more you stroke pussy's back, the higher she raises her tail. (Gaelic, but no explanation given.)
  • Trust not a horse's heel nor a dog's tooth.
  • Two cats and a mouse, two wives in one house, two dogs and a bone, never agree in one.
  • I'm no every man's dog that whistles on me. (Scotch)
  • Biting and scratching got the cat with kitten.

1 comment:

parlance said...

I've actually heard that one before, not sure where. Maybe a historical novel? I loved the one about not coming to any man's dog whistle.