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Current Superstitions

<h2 class="chapterhead">CHAPTER XIX.</h2> MISCELLANEOUS. ACTIONS. 1271. If a child in eating an apple merely girdles it and leaves the apple good at stem and below, it indicates that he will be a poor man; the saying is, “a poor man’s core.” 1272. It is unlucky to turn back after starting to go anywhere. To avert misfortune after turning back, make the sign of the cross in the dust with the heel, and spit in the cross. Arkansas (negro), and Kentucky. 1273. It is unlucky to turn back after having once started out. Quebec. 1274. To get out of bed on the wrong side puts one out all day. “He got out of bed with the wrong foot foremost” is said of a person who has a fit of crossness. Northern Ohio. 1275. To drop your books on the way to school signifies that you will make mistakes in your lessons. Chestertown, Md. 1276. Drop a book and you will miss your lesson, unless it is immediately picked up and kissed. Alabama. 1277. Whoever eats the last piece of bread will be an old maid. Pennsylvania. 1278. If you break something, you will break two other things. Maine, Massachusetts, and Northern Ohio. 1279. To twirl a chair on one leg means that you are going to fight with somebody. Peabody, Mass. 1280. Whirling an empty chair indicates that a whipping is in store for the transgressor. 1281. If you twirl a chair around on one leg, it is a sign that you are about to break dishes. Chestertown, Md. 1282. You mustn’t pay the doctor entirely, or there will be sickness in the family. Lonsdale, R. I. 1283. You must leave by the door through which you enter, or there will be trouble with the family, or ill luck to yourself. Pennsylvania. 1284. If you leave by any other door than the one through which you have entered, it is said that you will not come again. Cumberland, Me. 1285. In bathing, the eyes should always be rubbed towards the nose, as that makes them large, and rubbing out the opposite way makes them small. Cambridge, Mass. 1286. In climbing a fence,— <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> Get over, meet with clover, Get through, meet with a shoe; Get under, meet with a blunder. Sunderland, Mass. </div> </div> 1287. If you step on a grave, you will never grow any more. Chestertown, Md. (negro). 1288. Step over a living thing, and that thing, whether a human being or not, will not grow any more. Province of Quebec, Can. 1289. To step over one leg of a child will cause it to grow longer than the other. Baltimore, Md. 1290. To comb the hair after dark is a sign of sickness. <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> Comb your hair after dark, Comb sorrow to your heart. Connecticut. </div> </div> 1291. If you comb your hair after dark, it will make you forgetful. Northern Ohio. 1292. If the right hand itches, you are going to get money; if the left, you will shake hands with a friend. If the nose itches, a friend is coming. Talladega, Ala. 1293. Two persons wiping hands on the same towel and twisting it occasions a quarrel. Pennsylvania. <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> 1294. Wash and wipe together, Live in peace together. Northern Ohio. </div> </div> 1295. If two persons wash their hands at the same time, it is a sign that they will be friends forever. Alabama. 1296. If two persons wipe their hands at the same time, they will be foes forever. Alabama. 1297. When two persons put one hand of each flat together, palm to palm, they will quarrel. Province of Quebec, Can. 1298. If two persons clasp hands so as to lock the fingers, bringing the palm of one person against the palm of the other person’s hand, it will break friendship. Newton, Mass. 1299. If you hug your knee (hold your knee in clasped hands), you will hug up trouble. Salem and Medford, Mass. 1300. When your joints crack, it is a sign that you have not outlived your best days. New York, N. Y. 1301. If you kiss through a veil, there’ll be a coolness. Portland, Me. 1302. Crossed knives are a sign of a quarrel. Cumberland, Mass. <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> 1303. Stir with a knife, Stir up strife. </div> </div> 1304. Never look after a friend who is leaving you till he is quite out of sight, or you will never see him or her again; but turn your eyes away while he is still visible, that he or she may return. General in the United States. 1305. Never say “good-by” more than once. Alabama. 1306. One who habitually bites the nails is ill-natured. Ohio. 1307. If you bite your finger-nails you will always be poor. Massachusetts. 1308. If you sleep with your head towards the north, it will prevent sickness. General in the United States. 1309. If you can cut a pie fair and true, you’ll have a likely husband. If you make the slices uneven, he’ll be crooked. 1310. If you make a bed handsomely, you’ll have a handsome husband. <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> 1311. If you cut pie straight, you will go to housekeeping. If you cut pie crooked, you will have no house to keep. New Hampshire. </div> </div> 1312. If you make a rhyme involuntarily, you will have a present. New Brunswick. 1313. The free use of salt is a sign of having a temper. Lynn, Mass. 1314. To say anything backward is a sign you will get a present. Peabody, Mass. <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> 1315. If you sing before you eat, You’ll cry before you sleep. Ohio and Iowa. </div> </div> 1316. If you sing before breakfast, you will cry before supper. Cambridge, Mass. 1317. If you laugh before breakfast, you will cry before supper. Prince Edward Island and Somerville, Mass. <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> 1318. Little birds that sing in the morning The old cat will catch before night. </div> </div> Accustomed to be said to children when they were especially hilarious in the early morning. Northern Ohio. 1319. If a child sing before breakfast, it will get a whipping before night. New Hampshire. 1320. To sing after you go to bed is a sign that tears will come before breakfast. Maine. 1321. If the sole of either foot itches, you will walk on strange ground. Boston, Mass. 1322. When about to begin a new enterprise, one must not step over straws in starting out. 1323. If you stumble with the right foot, it means a glad surprise. Pennsylvania (negro). 1324. In going anywhere, if you strike the right foot you will be welcome wherever you may be going, and if the same happens to the left foot, you will be on strange ground. Bellville, O. 1325. To sit on a table is a sign of coming disappointment. Maine and Massachusetts. 1326. In drinking tea, if you take a stem in the mouth it means an enemy; you must bite it and throw it over the right shoulder. Central Maine. 1327. If you stub your toe going into a house, you are not wanted there. Guilford, Conn. 1328. If, in going visiting, you stub the right toe, you are welcome; if the left, you are unwelcome. Massachusetts and Ohio. 1329. If you stub your toe going anywhere, it means a disappointment. Bathurst, N. B. <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> 1330. Stub your toe, Lose your beau. Salem, Mass. </div> </div> 1331. To bite the tongue while talking means that you have told a lie. 1332. If you bite your tongue suddenly while eating, it is a sign some one is coming hungry. Cambridge, Mass. 1333. In going along the street or path, where there is a tree, go inside rather than outside the tree, for you will be disappointed if you take the latter course. Eastern Massachusetts. 1334. In drinking water, if you glance over the glass, you are a flirt. Pennsylvania. <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> 1335. Whistling girls and crowing hens Always come to some bad ends. General in the United States. </div> </div> <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> 1336. Whistling girls and sheep Are the very worst cattle a farmer can keep. </div> </div> <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> 1337. A whistling girl and a laughing sheep, Are the very best property a man can keep. Northern Ohio. </div> </div> <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> 1338. Girls that whistle and hens that crow Make their way wherever they go. </div> </div> <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza"> 1339. Whistle before you eat, Cry before you sleep. Baldwinsville, N. Y. </div> </div> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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