Ba cáera for gaimen.

(would be * berries * on * hide)

That would be like (a few) berries on the table.

The image here is of a meager offering, and by extension, of a pointless effort. A “gaimen” or “seiche” (skin or hide) was formerly used to serve food on, and berries didn’t count as lavish hospitality! This proverb is found in “Aislinge Meic Con Glinne”, in a long run of similar images of actions that are fruitless, bootless, or pointless. The even more meager “cáer ar geimiun” (a berry on a hide) is Congal’s opinion of his enemies in “Cath Muighe Rath” (FCG, p. 124). A similar image, but more of a wasted rather than a meager effort, is “ba h-ass for sechid” (that would be like serving milk on a skin) is also found in the run in AMCG. Compare “Ba gat imm gainem” in this collection.

Topics: Proverbial Sayings