Yan nivver thinks ’at t’ egg’s new laid
Yan’s nahbor kindly lent yan,
An’ t’ cream fra borr’ed milk is thin—
Deean’t len’, if you’d content yan.
‘Sha allus drives ivverything whahl t’ last bat. Ya caan’t insense it intiv her ’at them ’at git ther traps tigither iv a hugger-mugger, allus foorgits t’ main thing ’at tha’ll want.’ This is a truism the world over. If we leave our packing to the last moment, we shall probably discover the very thing we mostly need has been left behind. Equally apt was the saying of one discussing a doubtful proceeding of some comrade: ‘He’ll deea ’t whahl they catch him. It’s a mistak at onny tahm ti sneeaf t’ cann’l ti cleease ti t’ wick.’ It is a mistake to snuff the candle too close to the wick, for in so doing you may extinguish the light; i.e. it is unwise to tempt Providence.
‘They’ve baith pulled yah road; he’s raxed an’ wrought, an’ sha’s scratted an’ tew’d; what yan thowt t’ other did, whahl i’ t’ end tha want foor nowt. Bud a breet shool an’ a well-worn thimm’l allus mak a menseful hoos,’ ‘Raxed’ and ‘wrought’ are synonymous of working hard, and to ‘scrat and tew’ is to be careful and ever toiling. ‘What one thought the other did’ only strengthens the opening statement that ‘they both pulled one way.’ To ‘want for nothing’ is to possess all one needs; and ‘a bright shovel and a well-worn thimble’ clearly show that neither are allowed a lengthy rest.
‘It taks mair ti keep a pack o’ hounds ’an t’ damage t’ fox diz,’ can be, and is, applied so variously that explanation is needless.
Deean’t be ti pawky.
Think on, thoo mun knaw
If thoo starts wiv a chirp