Irish Proverbs And Quotes - The Dangers of Idle Chatter

The Irish are known for their "gift of the gab". Judging by the preponderance of old Irish proverbs and sayings regarding the dangers of idle chatter, the Irish must love to gossip.

The clothesline chronicles are not unique to the Irish race. The Bible has many verses devoted to the perils of spreading tales.

Proverbs from many cultures advise against the rumor mill, but today let's focus on guidance from the land of the Blarney Stone with a collection of Irish quotes about gossiping.

Be Careful Who You Talk To
Women and Gossip
Prayers And Gossip Don't Mix
Irish Language Sayings About Gossip and Idle Talk
Secrets Are Safe With The Dead
Quotations About Gossip From Irish Writers:

Be Careful Who You Talk To

Let's start with some wise old words from our Irish ancestors that tell of the risks of a good old chinwag, and the sharing of stories about others.

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"He who comes with a story to you, brings two away from you."

"Who keeps his tongue, keeps his friends."

"It is not a secret if it is known by three people."

"Who gossips with you, will gossip of you."

"Melodious is the closed mouth."

"A story without an author, is not worth listening to."

"Leave the bad tale where you found it."

And so the moral of the story is to avoid gossip. Rumors, stories and tales behind the back are hurtful and our ancestors warned us of these dangers.

Women and Gossip

Reading old Irish proverbs and sayings reveals women bore the greatest blame for sharing stories and spreading gossip in Ireland in days gone by.

The next group of Irish quotes all focus on the dangers of women gossips ...

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"She has a tongue that would clip a hedge."

"A woman told me that a woman told her she saw a woman who saw a woman that made ale of potatoes."

"A whisper in Nora's ear is louder than a shout from the highest hill."

"Talk by the fire is the talk of idle women."

"Tell a woman a story, and tell the whole island."

Two women talking beside bicycles by a wall

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Prayers And Gossip Don't Mix

The next selection of Irish proverbs and sayings about gossip focuses on those who try to mix gossip and prayer. Irish proverbs had little time for talkers who hid behind their piety.

"Silence is the fence around the haggard,

where wisdom is stacked."

"Prayers and idle chatter don't mix."

"Don't bless with the tip of your tongue,

if there's bile at the butt."

"Woe to him whose betrayer sits at his table."

Irish Language Sayings About Gossip and Idle Talk

I love the original Irish language versions of these old sayings. Irish is a Gaelic language and some of the sayings we now recognize through their English translations, are more lyrical and poetic in the original Irish.

Here are my favorites...

"Is minic a ghearr duine a scornach lena theanga féin."

Here is the phonetic pronunciation for this saying:

"Iss min-ick ah gh-yar din-ah ah scur-nock len-ah h-ong-ah fay-in."

Here is an audio file to listen to the Irish version of this saying.

"It is often a person cut his throat with his own tongue."

"Is binn béal ina thost."

Here is the phonetic pronunciation for this saying:

"Iss bin bay-ul in-ah huh-st."

Here is an audio file to listen to the Irish version of this saying.

"A silent mouth is sweet."

"An rud nach gcloiseann an chluas ní chuireann sé buairt ar an gcroí."

Here is the phonetic pronunciation for this saying:

"On ru-dh nock glush-in on clu-ass nee kur-in shay boo-urt ehr on gree."

Here is an audio file to listen to the Irish version of this saying.

What is not heard by the ear does not upset the heart.

"An áit ina mbíonn an toit, bíonn an tine."

Here is the phonetic pronunciation for this saying:

"On awe-ch in-ah mee-un on thi-ch be-un on tin-eh."

Here is an audio file to listen to the Irish version of this saying.

"The place where there is smoke, there is fire."

or in other words

"There's no smoke without fire."

"Is comhchoirithe iad cluas agus béal."

Here is the phonetic pronunciation for this saying:

"Iss ko-kur-ih-ha ee-ud clu-ass ah-gus bay-ul."

Here is an audio file to listen to the Irish version of this saying.

"The ear and mouth are accomplices."

"Bíonn cluasa ar na claíocha."

Here is the phonetic pronunciation for this saying:

"Bee-un clu-ass-ah ehr nah klee-uck-ah."

Here is an audio file to listen to the Irish version of this saying.

"There are ears on the ditches."

Rock formation — The Three Gossips - Arches National Park, Utah

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Secrets Are Safe With The Dead

The next selection of gossip quotes from Ireland focus on how secrets are often buried with the dead. It is only when a gossip has passed away that stories and secrets are finally safe, or are they?

"Coinníonn triúr rún má tá beirt acu marbh."

Here is the phonetic pronunciation for this saying:

"Kwin-ee-un threw-ur roon maw taw bert ack-oo mar-uv."

Here is an audio file to listen to the Irish version of this saying.

"Three keep a secret if two of the three are dead."

"Dead men tell no tales,

but there is many a thing

learned in the wake house."

"If you dig a grave for others,

you may fall into it yourself."

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Quotations About Gossip From Irish Writers:

And finally, let's take a look at some witty quotations about gossip from Irish writers.

“Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect: like a man, who hath thought of a good repartee when the discourse is changed, or the company parted; or like a physician, who hath found out an infallible medicine, after the patient is dead.”

~ Jonathon Swift

"The things most people want to know about,

are usually none of their business."

- George Bernard Shaw

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"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."

- Oscar Wilde

"It is perfectly monstrous the way people go about nowadays saying things against one, behind one's back, that are absolutely and entirely true."

- Oscar Wilde