HAWKS will not pick out hawks’ eyes1573 J. SANFORDE Garden of Pleasure 104 One crowe neuer pulleth out an others
eyes. 1817 SCOTT Rob Roy III. iii. I wadna..rest my main dependence on the Hielandmen
—hawks winna pike out hawks’ een.—They quarrel amang them-sells .. but they are sure
to join .. against a’ civilized folk. 1883 J. PAYN Thicker than Water III. xli. Members of
his profession .. while warning others of the dangers of the table, seem to pluck from
them the flower Safety. (Is it that, since hawks do not peck out hawks’ een, they know
they can be cured for nothing?) 1915 J. BUCHAN Salute to Adventurers vi. I have heard
that hawks should not pick out hawks’ eyes. What do you propose to gain? 1975 J.
O’FAOLAIN Women in Wall xiv. The crow doesn’t pluck out the crow’s eye but poor
folk bear the brunt. reciprocityhay see if in FEBRUARY there be no rain, ‘tis neither good for hay nor grain; MAKE hay
while the sun shines; a SWARM in May is worth a load of hay.
head see the FISH always stinks from the head downwards; where MACGREGOR sits is
the head of the table; you cannot put an OLD head on young shoulders; a STILL tongue makes
a wise head; SWEEP the house with broom in May, you sweep the head of the house away;
TWO heads are better than one; YORKSHIRE born and Yorkshire bred, strong in the arm and
weak in the head.
heal see PHYSICIAN, heal thyself.healer see TIME is a great healer.healthy see EARLY to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.HEAR all, see all, say nowt, tak’ all, keep all, gie nowt, and if tha ever does owt for
nowt do it for thysen
A proverb now traditionally associated with Yorkshire, with numerous variant forms. The
precepts make up the caricature of the Yorkshireman as seen by detractors: canny, dour (say
nowt = say nothing), grasping (gie nowt = give nothing), and selfish (if tha ever does owt for
nowt do it for theysen = if you ever do anything for nothing do it for yourself).
a 1400 Proverbs of Wisdom in Archiv (1893) XC. 246 Hyre and se, and say nowght.