“See a stranger,
Kiss a fool,
Or be in danger.”
If your left hand itches, you will shortly receive money; if it is the right hand, get ready to shake hands with a stranger.
A ringing or “dumb-bell” in the ear denotes that you may expect startling news of some sort.
A swarm of bees in June is worth a silver spoon.
Four persons meeting in a crowded place and shaking hands cross-wise, is a sign that one of the party will be married within the year.
Should you meet a person on the stairs, one or the other must go back, or some misfortune will happen to both.
If you should fail to fold up your napkin after a meal at which you are a guest, you will not again be invited to that table.
Think of the devil and he is at your elbow. The point of this robust saying is now much softened into “think of some one and he is at your elbow”; but it seems at first to have had reference to an enemy or to one you would rather avoid. The saying is quite common to-day.
A very old rhyme about the way in which one wears out a shoe, runs in this way:—
“Tip at the toe, live to see woe,
Wear at the side, live to be a bride,
Wear at the ball, live to spend all,
Wear at the heel, live to save a deal.”