proverb · Source-linked selection
A Scotch mist will wet an Englishman through to the skin.
A Scotch mist will wet an Englishman through to the skin.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying claims a Scotch mist can thoroughly wet an Englishman. It contrasts the seemingly slight weather with a substantial effect on the person in it.
What the words are saying
Through to the skin makes the consequence stronger than the word mist may suggest. A qualified analogy can concern underestimating an unobtrusive pressure. The national labels belong to the wording; they do not establish the saying’s origin or a verified difference between national groups. The literal weather claim is not a complete guide to conditions.
Everyday example
Someone notices the accumulating effect of small interruptions instead of dismissing each one as too slight to matter.
When to use it
Use it as an explicit analogy about an underestimated effect.
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What it does not mean
It is not a weather forecast, national-character claim or country-of-origin attribution.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1406 · Scotch mist
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English