February is traditionally a month of heavy rain (black) or snow (white), but see quot. 1978.1557 T. TUSSER Husbandry D1 Feuerell fill dyke, doth good with his snowe. 1670
J. RAY English Proverbs 40 February fill dike Be it black or be it white; But if it be
white, It’s the better to like. 1906 E. HOLDEN Country Diary of Edwardian Lady (1977)
13 February fill dyke Be it black or be it white. 1978 R. WHITLOCK Calendar of
Country Customs iii. Though February is notoriously associated with floods, as in the
appellation ‘February fill-dyke’, it is statistically one of the driest months of the year.
calendar loreIf in FEBRUARY there be no rain, ‘tis neither good for hay nor grainAn earlier expression of this idea is: 1670 J. RAY English Proverbs 40 All the moneths in
the year curse a fair Februeer.
1706 J. STEVENS Spanish & English Dict. s.v. Febrero, When it does not rain in
February, there’s neither good Grass nor good Rye. 1906 E. HOLDEN Country Diary of
Edwardian Lady (1977) 13 If February bring no rain ‘Tis neither good for grass nor grain.
1978 R. WHITLOCK Calendar of Country Customs iii. One farming adage asserts that ‘If
in February there be no rain Tis neither good for hay nor grain.’ weather loreFEED a cold and starve a feverProbably intended as two separate admonitions, but the rationale behind the alternative
interpretation is explained in quot. 2002. Early medical advice is represented by: 1574 J.
WITHALS Dict. 66 Fasting is a great remedie in feuers.
1852 E. FITZGERALD Polonius p. ix. ‘Stuff a cold and starve a fever,’ has been
grievously misconstrued, so as to bring on the fever it was meant to prevent. 1867 ‘M.
TWAIN’ Celebrated Jumping Frog 69 It was policy to ‘feed a cold and starve a fever’.
1939 C. MORLEY Kitty Foyle xxxi. I said I better go downstairs and eat a square meal,
‘feed a cold and starve a fever.’.. ‘You misunderstand that,’ he says. ‘It means if you feed
a cold you’ll have to starve a fever later.’ 1997 Washington Times 19 Nov. A8 ‘Forget
about feeding a cold and starving a fever,’ Dr. Edelman said, adding there is no medical
reason for diet changes. 2002 New Scientist 9 Feb. 51 The saying should be: ‘If you feed a
cold you will have to starve a fever.’ The theory goes that if you carry on eating when you
have a cold, your body will have to use up vital energy digesting the food rather than..
fighting the cold. You are therefore more likely to allow the cold to develop and become
a fever. Your body will then have no option but to shut down your desire to eat in order to