Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1891-12-28
OLD SAWS.
Homely and Quaint Sayings OF
Olden Times.
They Take Us Back to the Days of Oul
Childhood-A New Amusement
for the Long Winter
Evenings.

4hOSS uOhc1y duO Oh
I'VE oldyn TYNE" are all SO perfect for
brevity, truth and wisdom that the
more we reflect on the forcible mean
ings and warnings they convey the
more we love and respect our good an
cestors who ted.them-providing
they always ''practiced what they
preached"
It is an exquisite delight which soon
becomes fascination to sit down quiet
ly and think out of our memory's store
house these condensed chunks of wis
dom which were burned into us when
we were young and thoughtless and
which have lain there dormant ever
since.
They take us back again to days of
childhood and once more we see and
hear our parents and grandparents and
kind old neighbors, and cross ones, too,
firing the chestnuts at us in the hope
of saving us future troubles and costly
experiences.
Of course we never appreciated them
nor understood one-tenth of what the
maxims meant-if we had we might be
good deal happier now, but of that
''the less said the better" and mo use
crying over split milk"
think tanks when we try to remember
them. There seems no end to the pro-
cession.
Experience is a dear teacher"
''Fools learn by their own experience,
wise men by the experience of Others"
How often those two have been
drummed in our ears. Fools laugh at
their own folly-A fool and his money
are soon parted-A fool for luck-Fools
never die" Our cross old neighbors
must have told us those.
Take the word dog" and you have:
Barking dogs never bite-Let sleep
ing dogs lie-Like dog in the Manager
Dog eat dog-Hair of the dog to cure
it's bite-Gone to the dogs-Give dog
bad name and then hang him
Whipped cur breads the lash," and
more.
Take the ''devil'' and there come
more maxims about him ethan you can
shake a stick att
"Whipping the devil around the
| stump-The devil is not as black as
he's painted-The devil take the hind
most-Spealz of the devil, he's sure to
appear-The devil takes care of his
own-The devil finds work for idle
hands to do-The devil was sick, the
l devil a monk would be; the devil got
we'll, but devil a monk was he-The
| devil turks behind the cross-Each
man for himself and the devil for us
all-Hell is paved with good intentions
| When hell freezes over the devil can
sl1ate-Fighting the devil with fire."
and something about the devil going
to church and seeing a saint, but we've
forgotten it.
| The word ear calls forth: Eager
ears hear anything-In at one ear, out
at the other-A flea in his ear-Little
pitchers have big ears"
| pot gives us: "a watched pot
never boils-Pot calling the kettle black
Pot luck-What makes a pot will
make pot lid" and many others
The children" must have been as
troublesome long ago as they are now.
For instance: Spare the rod and spoil
the child" though in latter days this is
properly reversed. "A burnt child
breads the fre-Children and fools
speak the truth-Children should be
seen and not heard-Boys will be boys
You can't expect old heads on young
shoulders-All work and no play makes
Jack dull boy-Children 7should not
play with edged tools-Don't send a
boy on a mans errand-Making a pig
of him elf"
Nothing seems to be said about girls
or babies; probably they were too good
to need any advice or correction. OF
domestic animals the horse and dog
(already stately and sheep and hogs
are noticed, leaving the gentle cow out.
Locking the stable door after the
horse is stolen-Eating his head off
For want of nail the shoe was lost;
for want of shoe the steed was lost;
for want of a steed the rider was lost
Much cry and little wool-Pulling
) the wool over his eyes-A wolf in
sleeps clothing-As innocent as a
lamb-Root hog or die-You can't make
silk purse out of sow's ear-Casting
pearls before swine," etc.
!, Oats, hay and straw make one think
Of "Straws show how the wind blows
Drowning men clutch at straws-
Hunting needle in hay stack-Make
/; hay while the sun shines-Hey's for
horses, straws for cows-He feels his
oats-Good as wheat-The last straw
breaks the camcl's back-Acknowledge
the corn," etc.
Money was as important an article
to our grandpops as it is now, and