Sayings

[pulminaria]

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, its a phrase I have heard said by colleagues at work about the seasons, another one was N'er cast a clout till May be Out, and One swallow doesn't make a Summer. Does anyone know what these saying mean or do you know of any other phrases or saying connected to moths of the year or the Seasons?

[maidmarian]

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, its a phrase I have heard said by colleagues at work about the seasons, another one was N'er cast a clout till May be Out, and One swallow doesn't make a Summer. Does anyone know what these saying mean or do you know of any other phrases or saying connected to moths of the year or the Seasons?

2 more- February Filldyke meaning heavy rain
fills the dykes round fields etc
March winds and April showers bring forth
May flowers.

Re the ones uve quoted March is usually
a windy month to start but winds die down
by end of month- hence lion &lamb

Not casting a clout til May be out was my
Great Grandmas favourite. To her it meant
keeping your vest on til end of May!!
Generally it meant May could start warm then
get cooler-so keep your warmer clothes on
a bit longer.
Im.sure theres lot of ohers about later months
And a poem that mentions all months in turn.
Going out now-but will look again later to see
if other postings made and if I can think of
any more!!

[maidmarian]

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, its a phrase I have heard said by colleagues at work about the seasons, another one was N'er cast a clout till May be Out, and One swallow doesn't make a Summer. Does anyone know what these saying mean or do you know of any other phrases or saying connected to moths of the year or the Seasons?

2 more- February Filldyke meaning heavy rain
fills the dykes round fields etc
March winds and April showers bring forth
May flowers.

Re the ones uve quoted March is usually
a windy month to start but winds die down
by end of month- hence lion &lamb

Not casting a clout til May be out was my
Great Grandmas favourite. To her it meant
keeping your vest on til end of May!!
Generally it meant May could start warm then
get cooler-so keep your warmer clothes on
a bit longer.
Im.sure theres lot of ohers about later months
And a poem that mentions all months in turn.
Going out now-but will look again later to see
if other postings made and if I can think of
any more!!

[parkerman]

Ne'er cast a clout til May be out does indeed mean don't remove your winter clothes til May be out. Clout is an Old English word for clothing.

Funnily enough it's the May bit that is uncertain. It could just simply mean don't remove your winter clothes till the month of May is over. But it could also mean till the flowers on the hawthorn tree come out as another name for the Hawthorn is the May Tree. To all intents and purpose though it amounts to the same thing as the hawthorn is called the May tree because it flowers in May.

[parkerman]

"."

[maidmarian]

Hi Pulminaria
havent thought of any more old sayings yet.
But I did find the poem Id thought of-
Sorry I cant do link -but if u put
"Garden Year Sara Coleridge" in search -it
should come up. Its a poem with 12
rhyming couplets-one for each month.
Probably not quite what ure looking
for-but I hope of some interest.

A lot of old sayings are about seasons &
weather - which go back to when a large
% of population.were employed on land
and peoples livliehoods depended on
weather.
I hope u get more replies and if I think
of more- will let u know
Best Wishes Maid Marian

[maidmarian]

Dupl

[Glen1]

Parkerman's latest book has been dispatched folks.

[pulminaria]

Thank you Maid Marion for the reply unfortunately I am leaving the site today, best wishes to you.

[sarah c]

Ne'er cast a clout til May be out does indeed mean don't remove your winter clothes til May be out. Clout is an Old English word for clothing.

Funnily enough it's the May bit that is uncertain. It could just simply mean don't remove your winter clothes till the month of May is over. But it could also mean till the flowers on the hawthorn tree come out as another name for the Hawthorn is the May Tree. To all intents and purpose though it amounts to the same thing as the hawthorn is called the May tree because it flowers in May.

thank you for that!!! I knew the saying and always thought of Adrian Mole and his thoughts on it!!! but now I feel 'in the know'!!!


that said I've been in the garden in a t-shirt for a couple of weeks now on principal!!