Patrick Weston Joyce

“ Of a person very thin:—He's 'as fat as a hen in the forehead.'
A man is staggering along—not with drink:—That poor fellow is 'drunk with hunger like a showman's dog.'
Dick and Bill are 'as great as inkle-weavers:' a saying very common in Limerick and Cork. ”

“ A conceited fellow having a dandy way of lifting and placing his legs and feet in moving about 'walks like a hen in stubbles.'
A person who is cool and collected under trying circumstances is 'as cool as a cucumber.' Here the alliteration helps to popularise the saying.
I must put up the horses now and have them 'as clean as a new pin' for the master.
A person who does good either to an individual or to his family or to the community, but afterwards spoils it all by some contrary course of conduct, is like a cow that fills the pail, but kicks it over in the end. ”

“ Now Biddy clean and polish up those spoons and knives and forks carefully; don't stop till you make them shine like a cat's eye under a bed. (Limerick.)
It is foolish to threaten unless you have—and show that you have—full power to carry out your threats:—'Don't show your teeth till you're able to bite.'
Greasing the fat sow's lug: i.e. giving money or presents to a rich man who does not need them. ”

“ A person quite illiterate 'wouldn't know a B from a bull's foot.' The catching point here is partly alliteration, and partly that a bull's foot has some resemblance to a B.
Another expression for an illiterate man:—He wouldn't know a C from a chest of drawers—where there is a weak alliteration. ”

“ That man would tell lies as fast as a horse would trot.
A person who does his business briskly and energetically 'works like a hatter'—'works like a nailer'—referring to the fussy way of these men plying their trade. ”