The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (77 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs

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carry

see
a DOG that will fetch a bone will carry a bone
;
everyone SPEAKS well of the bridge which carries him over
.

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case

see
CIRCUMSTANCES alter cases
;
HARD cases make bad law
;
no one should be JUDGE in his own cause
.

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Ne'er CAST a clout till May be out

A warning not to leave off old or warm clothes until the end of May. The Proverb does not refer to May blossom, as is sometimes assumed.

1706
Spanish & English Dict.
s.v. Mayo,
Hasta passado Mayo no te quites el sayo
,
Do not leave off your Coat till May be past.
1732
Gnomologia
no. 6193
Leave not off a Clout [item of clothing], Till May be out.
1832
Scottish Proverbs
154
Cast ne'er a clout till May be out.
1948
White Goddess
x.
In ancient Greece, as in Britain, this [May] was the month in which people went about in old clothes—a custom referred to in the proverb ‘Ne'er cast a clout ere May be out,’ meaning ‘do not put on new clothes until the unlucky month is over.’
1970
Thursday's Child
xxv.
I still wear four petticoats .. Ne'er cast a clout till May be out.
1996
Murder on Flying Scotsman
i. 7
Brought up on ‘Ne'er cast a clout till May be out’ (May month or may blossom? she had always wondered), Daisy was wearing her green tweed winter coat.