a sow may whistle, though it has an ill mouth for it
- a sow may whistle, though it has an ill mouth for it
The ‘Lord Granard’ mentioned in quot. 1802 was George Forbes (1760–1837), sixth Earl and first Baron Granard.
1802 M. EDGEWORTH Letter 19 Oct in Maria Edgeworth in France & Switzerland (1979) 10 He waddles on dragging his boots along in a way that would make a pig laugh. As Lord Granard says, a pig may whistle though he has a bad mouth for it.
1846 J. GRANT Romance of War I. xii. ‘I dare say the Spanish sounds very singular to your ear.’ ‘Ay, sir; it puts me in mind o’ an auld saying o’ my faither the piper. “A soo may whussle, but its mouth is no made for’t.”’
1927 J. BUCHAN Witch Wood xvii. Ye say he has the speech o’ a guid Christian? Weel-a-weel, a soo may whistle, though it has an ill mouth for it.
Proverbs new dictionary.
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ill — see it’s an ill bird that fouls its own nest ill gotten goods never thrive he that has an ill name is half hanged it’s ill waiting for dead men’s shoes ill weeds grow apace it’s an ill wind that blows nobody a … Proverbs new dictionary
sow — noun see a sow may whistle, though it has an ill mouth for it you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear verb see sow dry and set wet as you sow, so you reap they that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind … Proverbs new dictionary
mouth — see out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks never look a gift horse in the mouth God never sends mouths but He sends meat a shut mouth catches no flies a sow may whistle, though it has an ill mouth for it o … Proverbs new dictionary
whistle — see don’t halloo till you are out of the wood a sow may whistle, though it has an ill mouth for it a whistling woman and a crowing hen are neither fit for God nor men it is a poor dog that’s not worth whistling for … Proverbs new dictionary
Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, Thematic Index — absence absence makes the heart grow fonder he who is absent is always in the wrong the best of friends must part blue are the hills that are far away distance lends enchantment to the view out of sight, out of mind … Proverbs new dictionary
literature — /lit euhr euh cheuhr, choor , li treuh /, n. 1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. 2.… … Universalium
