Ard bot fiaich ...

Ard bot fiaich ocainn, íseal bot con.

(high * tail * of raven * at-us * low * tail * of hound)

The raven’s tail is high for us and the hound’s tail is low.

In other words, food is scarce for us. The expression is presumably based on a close observation of the appearance of animals at the beginning of spring, when the winter’s stores of food were almost exhausted.


Topics: Similes, Metaphors & Kennings Proverbial Sayings