A' ills are gude untried.
Air day or late day, the fox's hide finds aye the slaying knife.
Sooner or later justice overtakes evil-doers.
A kindly word cools anger.
A kiss and a drink o' water mak but a wersh breakfast.
Spoken disapprovingly of those who marry for love, without due regard to means.
A landward lad is aye laithfu'.
A country or rustic lad is always bashful.
A lang gather'd dam soon runs out.
A lang tongue has a short hand.
"They who are lavish in their promises, are often short in their performances."-- Kelly.
A lass that has mony wooers aft wails the warst.
A laughing-faced lad often maks a lither servant.
A layin' hen is better than a standin' mill.
A standing mill is profitless, whereas a laying hen is not.
A leaky ship needs muckle pumping.
A leal heart never lied.
Ale-sellers shouldna be tale-tellers.
They hear everybody's story, but prudence demands that they should keep it to themselves.
A liar should hae a gude memory.
A light-heeled mother maks a heavy-heeled dochter.
A light purse maks a heavy heart.
Alike every day maks a clout on Sunday.
A little wit ser's a lucky man.
A' law's no justice.
A loving heart and a leal within, are better than gowd or gentle kin.
A lucky man needs little counsel.
A maid aft seen and a gown aft worn, are disesteemed and held in scorn.
"Amaist" and "Very near" hae aye been great liars.
Amaist was ne'er a man's life.
A man at five may be a fool at fifteen.
A man at forty is either a fool or a physician.
A man canna bear a' his ain kin about on his back.
A man canna wive and thrive the same year.
Amang you be't, priest's bairns: I am but a priest's oe.
A man has nae mair gudes than he gets gude o'.
A man is a lion for his ain cause.
"No man so zealous for, or assiduous in, a man's business as himself."-- Kelly.
A man maun spoil ere he spin.
A man may be kind, yet gie little o' his gear.
A man may haud his tongue in an ill time.
A man may keep silent at a time or under circumstances where it is an injury to himself.
A man may lose his ain for lack o' craving.
A man may speer the gate he kens fu' weel.
A man may spit in his neive and do but little.
He may make a great show of working but still do very little.
A man may woo where he will, but maun wed where his weird is.
A man o' mony trades may beg his bread on Sunday.
"Jack of all trades, master of none."-- English.
A man o' words, and no o' deeds, is like a garden fu' o' weeds.
A man's aye crouse in his ain cause.
A man's hat in his hand ne'er did him ony harm.
A man's mind is a mirk mirror.
A man's weel or wae as he thinks himsel sae.
A man wi' ae ee, can see mair than you wi' your twa.
A master's ee maks a fat horse.
"No eye like the master's eye."-- English.
A mear's shoe will fit a horse.
"Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander."-- English.
A misty morning may be a clear day.
A mouthfu' o' meat may be a tounfu' o' shame.
"That is, if it be stolen--intimating that a little thing picked will procure a great disgrace."-- Kelly.
A muckle mouth has aye gude luck for its meat.
A muffled cat was ne'er a gude hunter.
An Aberdeen man ne'er stands to the word that hurts him.
A nag wi' a wame and a mare wi' nane are no a gude pair.
An air winter maks a sair winter.
A naked man maun rin.
A man that is destitute must exert himself.
An auld dog bites sicker.
An auld horse may dee ere the grass grow.
"While the grass is growing the steed is starving."-- German.
An auld knave's nae bairn.
"An old fox needs learn no new tricks."-- English.
An auld man's a bedfu' o' banes.
An auld mason maks a gude barrowman.
An auld pock is aye skailing.
An auld pock needs muckle clouting.
Old things, generally, are often in need of repair.
Ance awa, aye awa.
When people once go away from home for a time, there is always a feeling among those left that the bond which binds them to home is weakened, and very little persuasion is required to take them away again.
Ance is nae custom.
Ance paid, never craved.
Ance Provost, aye My Lord.
Ance wud, and aye waur.
Ance wud, never wise.
A person once "wud," or deranged, is always suspected of being so, in the event of anything strange taking place.
Ane at a time is gude fishing.
An eating horse ne'er foundered.
An excuse for taking a hearty meal, meaning that plenty of food will injure neither man nor beast.
Ane beats the bush, and anither grips the bird.
Ane does the skaith, anither gets the scorn.
Ane gets sma' thanks for tineing his am.
Ane is no sae soon healed as hurt.
An elbuck dirl will lang play thirl.
Ane may like a haggis weel enough that wouldna like the bag bladded on his chafts.
Ane may like the kirk weel enough, and no aye be riding on the rigging o't.
Ane would like to be lo'ed, but wha would mool in wi' a moudiewort?
The three preceding proverbs mean, that although a man may be very fond of his relations, property, and what not, still there are certain extremes to be avoided, for if even approached, they verge into the ridiculous.
Ane may think that daurna speak.
Ane never tines by doing gude.
Ane o' the court, but nane o' the council.
Meaning that although your presence and advice may on certain occasions be requested, it is only for form's sake.
Ane's ain hearth is gowd's worth.
Ane will gar a hundred lee.
A new pair o' breeks will cast down an auld coat.
A new article of dress will make the others look much more worn than they really are. The acquisition of a new friend may tend to lower our esteem for those of longer standing.
Anger's mair hurtfu' than the wrang that caused it.
Anger's short-lived in a gude man.
An honest man's word's his bond.
An idle brain is the deil's workshop.
"He that labours is tempted by one devil; he that is idle by a thousand."-- Italian.
An ilka-day braw maks a Sabbath-day daw.
He that wears his best at all times will have nothing to suit extraordinary occasions.
An ill cook should hae a gude cleaver.
An ill cow may hae a gude calf.
An ill custom is like a gude bannock--better broken than kept.
An ill lesson is easy learned.
An ill life maks an ill death.
An ill plea should be weel pled.
An ill servant ne'er made a gude maister.
An ill turn is soon done.
An ill wife and a new-kindled candle should hae their heads hadden down.
"But both must be done with care, caution, and discretion; otherwise you may put the candle out and make the wife worse."-- Kelly.
An ill-willy cow should hae short horns.
"It were a pity that a man of ill-nature should have much authority, for he'll be sure to abuse it."-- Kelly.
An ill-won penny will cast down a pound.
An inch breaks nae squares.
"A little difference ought not to occasion any contests among good neighbours."-- Kelly.
An inch o' gude luck is worth a faddom o' forecast.
A nod frae a lord is a breakfast for a fool.
A nod o' honest men's eneugh.
A nod's as gude's a wink to a blind horse.
An olite mother maks a dawdie dochter.
An only dochter is either a deil or a daw.
An ounce o' mither-wit is worth a pound o' clergy.
An ounce o' wit is worth a pound o' lear.
"An ounce of mother-wit is worth a pound of schoolwit."-- German.
An unlucky fish taks bad bait.
An unlucky man's cart is eithly coup'd.
An ye loe me look in my dish.
A delicate request for a second supply of soup.
A' owers spills.
A party pot ne'er plays even.
An interested or prejudiced individual cannot be an impartial judge of both sides of a question.
A penny hain'd's a penny clear, and a preen a-day's a groat a-year.
A penny hain'd's a penny gained.
A penny in my purse will gar me drink when my friends winna.
A penny in the purse is a gude friend.
A penny in the purse is better than a crown awa.
A pennyweight o' love is worth a pound o' law.
A pickle's no miss'd in a mickle.
A poll parrot thinks weel o' itsel.
A poor man is fain o' little.
A poor man's debt maks muckle din.
A pound o' care winna pay an ounce o' debt.
Care here means sorrow, or trouble of mind, and must not be associated with care in the sense of frugality or economy, which has paid many an ounce of debt.
A pound o' woo' is as heavy as a pound o' lead.
A primsie damsel maks a daidlin' dame.
A proud heart in a poor breast has muckle dolour to dree.
A proud mind and an empty purse gree ill thegither.
"A true proverb! and the worst is, they meet often."-- Kelly.
A raggit coat was ne'er a mote in a man's marriage.
A reckless house maks mony thieves.
A red nose maks a raggit back.
A reeky house and a girnin' wife, will lead a man a fashious life.
A reproof is nae poison.
"No, indeed! but a wholesome medicine, which whosoever refuseth is brutish!"-- Kelly.
A rich man has mair cousins than his faither had kin.
A rich man's wooing's no lang doing.
A rough bane maks a fu' wame.
As a carl riches he wretches.
"Wretch, a covetous or niggardly person."-- Jamieson.
As a man becomes rich he also becomes more parsimonious.
A safe conscience maks a sound sleep.
A saft aiver was ne'er a gude horse.
As ane flits anither sits, and that keeps mailins dear.
As brisk as bottled ale.
A's but lip-wit that wants experience.
A scabbed horse is gude enough for a sca'd squire.
A sca'ded cat dreads cauld water.
As canker'd as a cow wi' ae horn.
"As proud as a hen with one chuck."-- English.
A scar'd head is eith to bleed.
A scar'd head is soon broken.
A reputation already questionable is easily lost altogether.
As coarse as Nancie's harn sark,--three threads out o' the pound.
A Scotch mist will weet an Englishman to the skin.
A Scotsman and a Newcastle grindstane travel a' the world ower.
Alluding to the wandering propensities of the one and the good qualities of the other.
A Scotsman is aye wise ahint the hand.
"It is too late to throw water on the cinders when the house is burned down."-- Danish.
As dark as a Yule midnight.
As day brake, butter brake.
"Spoken when a person or thing that was wanting comes opportunely."-- Kelly.
A seven years' maiden is aye at the slight.
As fain as a fool o' a fair day.
A's fair at the ba'.
"All's fair in war."-- English.
As fause as Waghorn.
"Waghorn, a fabulous personage, who, being a liar nineteen times greater than the devil, was crowned King of liars."-- Jamieson.
A's fine that's fit.
A's fish that comes to the net.
As fu' o' mischief as an egg's fu' o' meat.
As gentle as Gorman's bitch, that lap ower the ingle and ate the roast.
As gude a fellow as ever toom'd a bicker.
As gude eat the deil as sup the kail he's boiled in.
As gude fish in the sea as e'er cam out o't.
As gude gie the lichty as tak it.
"Lichtly, and expression of contempt or insult: to undervalue, to slight, to despise."- Jamieson.
As gude may haud as draw.
As gude may haud the stirrup as he that loups on.
As gude merchants tine as win.