A Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

A WHISTLING woman and a crowing hen are neither fit for God nor men

The rhyme has at least three common variants.

1721 J. KELLY Scottish Proverbs 33 A crooning cow, a crowing Hen and a whistling

Maid boded never luck to a House. The two first are reckoned ominous, but the

Reflection is on the third. 1850 Notes & Queries 1st Ser. II. 164 A whistling woman and a

crowing hen, Is neither fit for God nor men. 1891 J. L. KIPLING Beast & Man ii. ‘A

whistling woman and a crowing hen are neither fit for God nor men,’ is a mild English

saying. 1917 J. C. BRIDGE Cheshire Proverbs 28 A whistling woman and a crowing hen

will fear the old lad [the Devil] out of his den. 1933 L. I. WILDER Farmer Boy xi. Royal

teased her, Whistling girls and crowing hens Always come to some bad ends. 1979 G.

DUFF Country Wisdom (1983) 55 A whistling woman and a crowing hen, Will bring Old

Harry out of his den. 1995 B. HOLLAND Endangered Pleasures 1161 was the wrong sex.

Boys whistled. .. As grandmothers used to say, A whistling girl and a crowing hen Both

will come to a bad end. women

whistling see also it is a POOR dog that’s not worth whistling for.

One WHITE foot, buy him; two white feet, try him; three white feet, look well about
him; four white feet, go without him

A horse-dealing proverb.

1882 Notes & Queries 6th Ser. V. 427 One white foot—buy him. Two white feet—

try him. Three white feet—look well about him. Four white feet—go without him. 1957

H. P. BECK Folklore of Maine iv. One white foot, buy him. Two white feet, try him.

Three white feet, deny him. Four white feet and a slip in his nose, take him out and feed

him to the crows. buying and selling; horse lore

white see also it doesn’t matter if a CAT is black or white.. ; FEBRUARY fill dyke, be it
black or be it white; TWO blacks don’t make a white.

whole see the HALF is better than the whole; HALF the truth is often a whole lie.

whore see ONCE a whore, always a whore.