139. As warm as a sheep-net. Used derisively; there is no shelter or warmth in a sheep-net.
140. As catching as the scab. The scab is a very infectious disease which sheep are liable to.
141. As bonny as a sheep-cade. The cade is a disgusting looking sheep-louse; hence the simile is used ironically.
143. As busy as a cobbler’s Monday. It is generally supposed that a cobbler has to rest over Monday to work off his week’s-end debauch; hence the simile is one of ridicule.
152. As nice as an otter. ‘Nice,’ in this case, means dainty, particular, eating as it does only the very best part of the fish it kills, leaving the rest untouched on the bank.
153. See 152.
155. As sweet as a churn. A churn, of all things, must be sweet and clean; hence anything which may be truly said to be as sweet as a churn, must excel in cleanliness.
156. As greedy as a fox in a hen-roost. The fox, having gained an entrance, not only kills the bird he intends to carry away for food, but any he can lay hold of; then, picking out the best, leaves the rest.
157. Ez meean ez a cat wiv a moose. ‘Mean’ is used in the sense of cruel. The way a cat plays with its victim before killing it, is the very essence of cruelty.
163. A bath-brick must be scraped each time it is used. Hence a person who has slipped down an incline, and so become bruised, will use the simile.