proverb · Traditional
When clouds appear like towers, the Earth is refreshed by frequent showers.
The rhyme compares clouds with towers and predicts frequent showers. Height and shape become signs of expected rain.
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225 matching explanations
proverb · Traditional
When clouds look like black smoke.
The fragment compares clouds with black smoke. It supplies a visual condition without stating what follows from it.
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When dew is on the grass, rain will never come to pass.
The saying treats dew on grass as a promise that rain will not follow. Its never wording makes the prediction absolute.
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When God punishes the cabbages, he also punishes the hares.
God punishing cabbages and also hares gives a change affecting one thing consequences for another. The saying combines dependence with a religious image.
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When grass is dry at morning light.
The fragment describes grass being dry in morning light. It presents a condition but gives no completed prediction.
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When it thunders the thief becomes honest.
The saying imagines thunder frightening a wrongdoer into honesty. It questions whether conduct changes only under the pressure of a dramatic warning.
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When leaves show their undersides, be very sure that rain betides.
The saying treats visible leaf undersides as a sure sign that rain is coming. It gives a change in the leaves’ presentation predictive force.
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When pipes smell stronger, it's going to rain.
The saying treats a stronger smell from pipes as a sign of rain. It converts an everyday sensory observation into weather lore.
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When pumpkins are watered weeds also get nourished.
Watering pumpkins also nourishing weeds depicts an action benefiting more than its intended target. The saying draws attention to accompanying effects.
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When the ass begins to bray, surely rain will come that day.
The saying treats a donkey beginning to bray as a sure sign of rain that day. It gives an animal sound predictive force.
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When the clouds are on the hills, They'll come down by the mills.
Clouds seen over the hills are imagined to bring rain or low cloud down to the mills. The saying links a visible higher place with conditions expected below it.
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When the cock drinks water, it raises its head to God in thankfulness.
A cock raising its head while drinking interpreted as thanking God gives an ordinary movement a grateful religious meaning. The saying invites appreciation through an animal image.
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When the cuckoo comes to the bare thorn, Sell your cow and buy your corn, But when she comes to a full bit, Sell your corn, and buy your sheep.
The saying gives different trading instructions according to whether the cuckoo arrives when the thorn is bare or full. A seasonal sign is made the basis for opposite changes in livestock and grain.
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When the forest murmurs and the mountain roars.
The fragment gives a forest a murmur and a mountain a roar. It creates a contrast in sound without stating a resulting event.
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When the moon is not full, the stars shine more brightly.
The saying makes stars shine more brightly when the moon is not full. As an explicit analogy, less prominence for one thing can draw attention to others.
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When the moon is shining, the cripple becomes hungry for a walk.
Moonlight making a person described with a disability term want to walk gives a welcome setting an image of renewed desire. The saying links atmosphere with participation.
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When the sloe-tree is as white as a sheet, Sow your barley, whether it be dry or wet.
The saying uses a sloe tree’s white blossom as a cue to sow barley. It gives a visible plant sign priority over whether the immediate weather is dry or wet.
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When the wind is in the east, 'Tis neither good for man nor beast.
The saying judges an east wind unfavourable to both people and animals. Its sweeping verdict turns a direction into an all-purpose bad sign.
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When the wind's in the east The fish will bite least.
The saying predicts the least fish-biting during an east wind. It assigns a low expectation to one direction in a set of remembered rules.
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When the wind's in the north You need not go forth [to fish].
The saying discourages fishing during a north wind. Its instruction makes wind direction the reason an outing is judged unpromising.
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When the wind's in the south It's in the rain's mouth.
The saying places a south wind at the opening of rain. The rain’s mouth gives an approaching condition a personified entry point.
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When the wind's in the south The bait goes in their mouth.
The saying associates a south wind with fish taking bait. Its image presents the hoped-for result as though conditions bring it directly about.
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When the wind's in the south, It blows the bait into the fishes' mouth.
The saying claims that a south wind favours fishing. Blowing bait into a fish’s mouth makes success seem almost effortless.
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When the wind's in the west The fish will bite best.
The saying expects the best fish-biting under a west wind. The rhyme ranks one direction favourably without establishing a measured comparison.
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