A sarcastic manner of informing a person that he is lazy.
The thrift o' you will be the death o' your gudewife.
The time ye're pu'in' runts ye're no setting kail.
The tod keeps aye his ain hole clean.
"'Hout-tout, Dame Elspeth,' said Tibb, 'fear ye naething frae Christie; tods keep their ain holes clean. You kirk-folk make sic a fasherie about men shifting a wee bit for their living!'"—The Monastery.
The tod ne'er sped better than when he gaed his ain errand.
"Every man is most zealous for his own interest. Spoken to advise a man to go about such a business himself."—Kelly.
The tod ne'er fares better than when he's bann'd.
"Spoken when we are told that such people curse us, which we think is the effect of envy, the companion of felicity. The fox is cursed when he takes our poultry."—Kelly.