Noco modmar cach n-óenbró.

(is not * effective * each * one millstone)

A single millstone is useless.

This is one of the proverbial images that Cú Chulainn uses in the LL “Táin” to convey the difficulty of defending Ulster against the invaders entirely on his own, during the period that the other warriors were suffering a magical debility. See also: “Ní lassamain…” and “Cuit in tslóig…” in this collection.

Ailbe uses the same proverb (“Ní nodmar [sic] dina nach aenbro”) in “Tochmarc Ailbe” in explaining to Finn, her new husband, why she always has a retort for his words of sage advice. She tells him that she is not answering back just to annoy him or to be contrary, “acht nama as aerlabru duit -si labra t’oenur gin nech do triaaccaillim frit” (but just that it’s empty eloquence for you to speak all alone without anyone to answer you back). The image of marriage as a pairing of two millstones is found in “Dia·fagbainn-se bróin úachtair” in this collection.

Topics: Proverbial Sayings