tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000658348481995041.post3897517260472395443..comments2023-12-11T22:15:18.595-08:00Comments on CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: Cast not a Clout Till May be OutCatherine Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13474915175193477553noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000658348481995041.post-81814992953148967862012-05-12T13:53:58.131-07:002012-05-12T13:53:58.131-07:00Well, now you come to press me, I believe I am so ...Well, now you come to press me, I believe I am so definite because I am very opinionated. Or perhaps my mother told me, and I believed her. I think it survived because of the vagaries of the English weather. Just because we have a hot week in March doesn't mean it will stay hot. Therefore wait till a reliable indicator of settled warm weather, eg may blossom. Or you'll catch your death of cold! etcCatherine Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13474915175193477553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000658348481995041.post-90506194850807112372012-05-11T14:02:51.055-07:002012-05-11T14:02:51.055-07:00Please explain your reasoning. Why are you so defi...Please explain your reasoning. Why are you so definite? I think you might well be right, but I want to be persuaded.<br /><br />Most web explanations of the "Cast not a clout/Ne'er cast a clout" proverb seem to refer to clothing, but I only ever hear it referred to meaningfully by modern tongues when they're speaking about the most advantageous time of the year at which to perform certain gardening tasks. I can not understand why a proverb might have stood the test of time if all it does is to tell people when to shed extra layers of clothing (despite the practice, in days of yore, of sewing oneself into one's winter clothing): if you're too hot, throw off some clothing! Why bother to remember a rhyme? <br /><br />I can, however, understand the longevity of a proverb that explains when to do things in the garden, because most novice gardeners are fraught with indecision as to when to plant out/pot up/etc.: a balmy February morning might be followed by two months'-worth of frosts. "Clout" could mean "clod of earth" as well as "item of clothing". The proverb could therefore mean, "Don't bother planting anything out [which would require the casting of clods of earth] until May blossom has appeared on hawthorn trees/until the month of May has ended."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000658348481995041.post-21324599663960991762012-03-06T05:32:58.175-08:002012-03-06T05:32:58.175-08:00May blossom, definitely.May blossom, definitely.Catherine Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13474915175193477553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7000658348481995041.post-21614487154709379052012-03-06T03:03:55.726-08:002012-03-06T03:03:55.726-08:00Ah. But does "till May be out" refer to ...Ah. But does "till May be out" refer to the month (and to its beginning or ending, one might also wonder) or to May blossom? I think the jury's still out on that one, shivering in all probability and clutching their clouts about them.lillyannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12752638206153634574noreply@blogger.com