A green winter makes a fat churchyard.
A green winter makes a fat churchyard.
Meaning in plain English
The saying connects a green winter with a full churchyard. Its grim image associates a winter condition with increased deaths without explaining the cause.
Example
A reader notes the implied deaths and the undefined seasonal term rather than using the rhyme to assess anyone’s health.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Fat makes the churchyard seem filled, turning a seasonal description into an ominous judgment. The wording does not define green or supply mortality evidence. A careful reading preserves the claim’s gravity without endorsing a health prediction or inventing a climatic mechanism. It can show how weather is given a fearful meaning in a compact saying.
When to use it
Use it to examine an ominous seasonal claim with its limits stated.
Keep in mind
No mortality relationship or health forecast is independently verified here.
Edsverb editorial interpretation · agent reviewed · 2026-10-05. This explains the saying; it does not establish its historical origin.
- Source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 729 · Green winter
Read the original context ↗ - Attribution confidence
- traditional · historical anthology
Preserved as printed; independently unverified. - Historical coordinate
- Undated
No reliable date supplied by the collection. - Rights & edition
- Public domain (United States)
Translations and rights may differ elsewhere.
Provenance and licences ↗