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however, which I believe to be local or peculiar to the island : —
- Ta airh er cushagyn ayns shen.
- There is gold on the cushags there.
- ("Cushag" is the Manx for ragwort, a weed very common in the island.)
- Tra ta yn dooinney boght cooney lesh dooinney boght elley, ta Jee hene garaghtee.
- When one poor man helps another, God himself laughs.
- Tra ta'n gheay 'sy villey yiow shiu magh yn Ghlass-ghuilley.
- When the wind is in the tree you will get the Lockman.
- (The "Lockman" is a sort of sheriff's officer, but the meaning of this proverb is obscure.)
- Clagh ny killagh ayns kione dty hie wooar.
- [May] a stone of the church [be found] in the head of thy dwelling.
- (This expression was used as a curse.)
- Mannagh vow cliaghtey cliaghtey, nee cliaghtey coe.
- If custom be not indulged with custom, custom will weep.
- As round as the Tynwald.
- (Tynwald is the hill or mount from which the laws are promulgated.)
- As stiff as the staff of government (applied to a person of stiff carriage).
- (The Governor received a white staff of office on his appointment.)
- As indifferently as the herring back-bone doth lie in the midst of the fish.
- (Part of the oath of the Deemster or Judge.)
It is, however, only by a systematic analysis and classification that the full significance and bearing of proverbs can be determined, and a proper comparison made between those of different nations. This I have endeavoured to do for Manx proverbs upon the lines already indicated.
