Proverbs and Sayings
to penury, which necessitated the practice of the strictest economy:
“If ye döna hain the breer, da bottom 'ill hain itsel'.”
That is, it's late time to practice economy when the meal barrel is empty, or in the words of another proverb:
“It's better lang little than shön (soon) naithin'.”
“Skeek weel, hae lang."
Skeek signifies to use sparingly, and is similar in meaning to the words hain and haag.
There were no doubt seasons of prolonged scarcity, and when supplies came at last, the appetite sharpened by hunger made greater demands. Hence the proverb:
“Lang want is riae bread hainin'.”
“A body mann fach as they're forn”—
A labourer will work as he's fed. Fach is applied to the cultivation of land that had been cropped with potatoes the pre-
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