Aul sayins fae tha hamested

My mother, to me: on the occasion of me reclining for a few moments on her chair,

"Luk at ye lyin bak thur like a churn a dryin."

Coul es Clash

If simthin is wile coul. Then it's:
es Coul es Clash

Tha ither nicht A left a cup o' tay behind me an whun A haed mine o' it, it wus 'coul es clash'.

Coallie wud ye lick

Here's an oul yin A herd tha day. Its used tae describe sumyin hoos wile ticht. A cretter hoo refuses tae share whut they hae.
'He wudnae say coallie wud ye lick'

Ir ye full ?

I herd an oul yin fae mae mither tha nicht

Full as a fitch


The evidence would suggest that this oul sayin comes from the common vetch 'fitch' plant (vicia sativa) which was used as fodder for cattle and horses.

Alternatives
full as a po: full as an egg and full as the eye o a pick

If ye raired him

Simtimes ye cum across a craiter ye jist cannae thole. Aye...

'Ye cudnae like him if ye raired him.'

Tha mair ye dae

The mair ye dae the less ye’r thocht o.

A common complaint of women down through the ages, who feel that their efforts are not appreciated.  


This saying has affinities with, ‘The willing horse gets the heavy load’ (English), or the Scots version which is, The wullin naig is aye wrocht ti daith.


PS
A brave or foolish man could respone with the oul truism
'Aye but thur's nae lack in love' (good luck).

Up tha Lum

Taken at the Ulster American Folk Park

As a wean I often heard burning something on the fire referred to as sending it "up tha lum". The lum being the chimney.
References to the lum can be found in Scots / Ulster-Scots literature from 1700 onwards eg.
1879 W. G. Lyttle Readings 77:
    Puir buddy, she lukit startit like, an’ sut doon awa at the tither side o’ the lum.
1786 Burns Halloween viii.:
    Till fuff! he started up the lum. 
I also uncovered a few sayins regarding the lum on the Internet.
Someone with a cast might have been referred to as - 'One eye on the pot and the other up the lum.'
  'Lang may yer lum reek.' — was a common expression to wish someone prosperity and plenty. 


Note my mother whose takin up computerin sent me an email to tell me that the entire sayin is:
Lang may yer lum reek an yer spicket (spigot) dribble.


Lastly 'Cryin' up the lum.' - it has been suggested that this phrase was used to stress the importance of self reliance. However I'm not entirely convinced that this is correct. Any suggestions on the meaning of this sayin' would be most welcome.

Weel creeshed

I recently heard someone remarking on how 'them that hae' (people with money) 'a seem tae en up wae mere' (always seem to benefit from financial transactions or windfalls).

I was reminded of an aul sayin that an old lady from Carrowdore was fond of using:

A fat soo's arse is aye weel creeshed (creesh- soft, thick grease)


(You may wish to modify the language somewhat but its a great idiom)
For a more comprehensive definition of the word creesh you may like to visit http://www.dsl.ac.uk/getent4.php?plen=8719&startset=7609727&dtext=snd&query=CREESH

Bate it wae a big stick

This aul sayin cum tae ma the ither nicht after a feed o guid protas.

'Sure ye cudnae bate it wae a big stick.'

Which of course means, something or somewhere which is particularly good or superior in some way. 

A duck lukkin fir thunner

Recently I was lucky enough to receive a copy of The Auld Meetin-Hoose Green by Arcibald McIlroy. A most enjoyable read, filled with insightful social commentary and dry Ulster-Scots wit. Towards the end of the book one of the characters descrbes his colleague as behaving 'like a duck in a thunderstorm.' A sayin' I heard often in my childhood. Along with the local variation: 'Luk at him stannin thur, like a duck lukkin fir thunner.'

A brief gleek on the Internet revealed that the poor oul duck has been getting a hard time since 1785 when the idiom appears in a lyrical ode by Peter Pindar (pseudonym of John Wolcot): "Gaping upon Tom's thumb, with me in wonder, The rabble rais'd its eyes -- like ducks in thunder." It's unclear whether Wolcot actually had close knowledge of ducks or merely needed something to rhyme with "wonder." In any case, Sir Walter Scott later used the phrase in his 1822 novel "Peveril of the Peak": "Closed her eyes like a dying fowl -- turned them up like a duck in a thunder-storm." From these and other uses since we can deduce how ducks are reputed to act in thunderstorms: they roll their eyes back in fear and then keel over dead. It's a wonder there are any ducks to be found today, given how common thunderstorms are. However I believe that Arcibald McIlroy employed the simile in the slighty less dramatic sense, we used at hame, to mean looking startled or 'dumbfoonthered' (not knowing where to turn or what to do).

Octh ava - Nane ava

Yin thing aftin leads tae anither. The ither nicth ma mither wus axt whut she'd like wae her tay. She replied o octh ava (anything at all). 
As sin as she'd said it I hae'd mind o' an oul rhyme ma da ust tae say aboot tha Greba (Greyabbey) lasses.

Wha saw tha Greba lasses,
Wha saw them gan awa,
Wha saw the Greba lasses,
Ganin doon tha Hard Breid Raa.
Some o thaim haed buits and stockins,
Some o thaim haed nane ava.
Some o thaim haed big bare arses,
Ganin doon tha Hard Breid Raa.

Jean Weir (88 years of age) reciting a poem she learned at a young age "The Greba Lasses".
*This excellent recital by a by Jean Weir comes from GinaCully1990 on Youtube

A Weetin Rain

Thus mornin a haed occassion tae bae ootside fur twathry minutes. An maun but thon wus a weetin rain. Oor if ye like it wus misilin, oor an oul saft day. Tak yer pick.

Stoot an Able

Here's a wee nonsense rhyme that my Granny ust tae say. If oanyboady knows onaythin aboot it. I wud quarley appreciate a wee email:    anaulhan@gmail.com

Twa wee dugs
They wunt tae tha mill
They sut doon
And likit thur fill
An they came hame
Stoot an able
Stoot an able
Stoot an able

aa richt

I'm no tae sure wuther or no this yin haes oany Ulster-Scots roots. But its yin wae say at hame.

It's aa aa ricth whun its gan aa ricth.

Its works weel wae tha reply

 Aye.. lang runs tha hare

Tae aa oul maids

'She haes a guid moany nicks in her horn'

This is said of a girl who is becoming an old maid. As a cow is said to have a nick in her horn for every year.

Tae aa spendthrifts

A nerra gatherin' get a broad scatterin'

This proverb alludes to the case of a thrifty man who gathers up a fortune during a lifetime, and is succeeded by a spendthrift son who squanders his inheritance.

A Cut Loaf

I wus able tae fin thrie different versions o this aul sayin

"A slice aff a cut loaf's niver miss'd." - Ulster-Scots

"A whang aff a new cut kebbuck [cheese] is ne'er miss'd."-Scot. "

'Tis safe taking a shive of a cut loaf."-Eng.

I have only ever heard this idiom used in the justification of taking, usually without permission, an insignificant item ( one of many). However my research has also revealed a sexual context for the saying. Apparently it is also used colloquially to describe having sexual intercourse with someone who is not a virgin, especially when they are in a relationship. The analogy refers to a loaf of bread; it is not readily apparent, once the end has been removed, exactly how many slices have been taken.

This idiom also appears in - Titus Andronicus -Shakespeare

Demetrius- What man! more water glideth by the mill Than wots the miller of; and easy it is Of a cut loaf to steal a shive we know.

Self-Reliance

Let ivery her'n' hing by its ain tail.

Meaning - Let every man depend upon himself.

Origin: - In croft's and cottages, dried herrings are suspended by a rod passed through their tails.

In the original Scottish: Let ilka (every) herring hing By it's ain tail.

Comeuppance

This is yin o mae favorites an an oul yin ferbye. It first appears in Allan Ramsay's book o scottish proverbs in 1737. Howaniver tha wurd cadger (or variants thereof) are recorded (in Scotland) as early as 1491.

Tha king aa cums tha cadgers road.

The word Cadger is used in Scottish as in standard English to mean a travelling hawker (chiefly of fish), or beggar. However in Scots / Ulster-Scots it can also be used to denote "A person of a disagreeable" temper” (J. Sellar Poems (1844)
The Proverb also appears as: The King’s Errand may come in the Cadger’s Gate (Sc. 1737 Ramsay Proverbs 62). The king will come in the cadger’s road. Followed by the explanation: a great man may need the services of a humble one.
This proverb is also referred to in 1894 by D. MacLeod - Past Worthies of Lennox 175: "I telt ye then that the day micht come when the king would come in the cadger’s road, an’ ye micht be gled o’ a nicht’s lodgin’s frae me."
Update: Phililp has kindly reminded me that from cadger we also get the Ulster-Scots word Cadge. "Tae Cadge" is to beg, borrow or peddle.

A similar proverb we used at hame

Lang runs tha Hare

Cryin fur nithin

If you believe that the droplets issuing from the eyes are without justifiable provocation i.e. thur cryin fur nithin. Then it is entirely appropriate to use the phrase......

Yer blether's brave an near yer een

Update: My thanks to Philip for the spelling correction. You are of course correct.
Interestingly I also came across some debate as to wether the word blether, in this instance, comes from the term for talking nonsense and is a reflection on the sincerity of the emotion or more directly from the word (bladder) blether, reflecting the dubious nature of the droplets. Both sources seem to have merit.
However, like yourself, I am fairly certain it's the later