MISCELLANEOUS

Entries

• #663

  If two persons shake hands across the gate, they are bringing on themselves ill luck.

  Alabama.
• #664

  It is unlucky to pass under a ladder.

  Canada.
• #665

  Go under a ladder and you will be hanged.

• #666

  Walking under a ladder is considered very unlucky. In the outposts girls will climb the rockiest cliffs to avoid such a contingency. On one occasion in St. John’s, where a ladder extended across the sidewalk, of one hundred and twenty-seven girls who came along, only six ventured under it, the rest going along the gutter in mud ankle deep.

  Newfoundland.
• #667

  If, in passing, one parts two people, it is a sign of disappointment to the parter.

• #668

  When two or three people go between different posts, in the entrance of gardens, cemeteries, etc., it is a sign they will be separated or disappointed.

  General in the United States.
• #669

  Sing on the street,
  Disappointment you’ll meet.

• #670

  To count the steps of stairs, as you lie on your back, indicates the number of your troubles.

• #671

  To fall upstairs means good luck; downstairs, ill luck.

  Massachusetts.
• #672

  To stumble downstairs, or on going out in the morning, means bad luck.

  Peabody, Mass.
• #673

  Opals are unlucky.

  General in the United States.
• #674

  The opal is unlucky, unless set with diamonds.

  New York.
• #675

  Don’t let the tea-kettle boil so as to make a bubbling or thumping noise, as some say it is unlucky.

  Eastern Massachusetts.
• #676

  A tea-kettle boiling so as to make a bubbling sound is said to boil away luck, and should be removed from the flame.

  Eastern Massachusetts.
• #677

  Never let your dish-water come to a boil, as every bubble means bad luck to the family.

  Eastern Massachusetts.
• #678

  Sewing in the twilight is an ill omen.

  Chatham, N. H.
• #679

  To look over another person’s shoulder into a looking-glass means disappointment.

  Deer Isle, Me.
• #680

  When going fishing, fishermen wear white mittens for luck.

  Portsmouth, N. H.
• #681

  It is unlucky to lose a glove.

  Bathurst, N. B.
• #682

  It is bad luck to have any one step across the fishing-pole; you will catch no fish.

  Talladega, Ala.
• #683

  Crawl under a fence, and you will have bad luck.

  Western Masssachusetts.
• #684

  To step over the feet of any one who is sitting is ill luck.

• #685

  Getting out of bed with the left foot first, or taking anything with the left hand when the right is disengaged, is a sign of bad luck.

  Alabama.
• #686

  In getting out of bed in the morning, the right foot is always to be placed first.

  Ohio.
• #687

  To get out of bed left foot first makes one cross. “He got out of bed left foot first,” is a universal saying.

• #688

  In going in at the house door, always put the right foot foremost. This practice is observed by many intelligent people.

• #689

  To sing at the table is a sign you will be disappointed.

• #690

  It is an ill omen to leave the table while eating, to light the lamp.

  Western Massachusetts.
• #691

  To lay the knife and fork crosswise is ill luck.

  Peabody, Mass.
• #692

  When you drop a knife or fork, and it sticks up in the floor, you will have good luck.

• #693

  It is lucky to find a rusty knife or other steel instrument.

  Maine.
• #694

  If a knife be spun round, care should be taken to spin it back again, otherwise it insures bad luck.

• #695

  Often verses of Proverbs xxxi. are assigned to girls and boys respectively according to the day of the month of the birth.

  Labrador and Brookline, Mass.
• #696

  It brings bad luck to the bearer of a ring to have it taken from her finger by another person.

  Massachusetts.
• #697

  Measuring one’s waist, as for a dress, will bring ill luck.

• #698

  To turn a loaf of bread upside down is ill luck.

  Northern Ohio.
• #699

  To find a four-leaved clover is lucky; but five-leaved, unlucky.

  General in the United States.
• #700

  When a vessel is launched, break a bottle of wine over her for luck. The bottle is to be broken by a lady.

  General in the United States.
• #701

  Never carry clean wet clothes from one house to another, as it will bring ill luck.

  Chestertown, Md.
• #702

  Do not go into your new house by the back door; if you do you take disaster with you.

• #703

  Never build on a spot where a house has been burned. The second house is likely to go in the same manner.

  Maine and Massachusetts.
• #704

  Light coming in at the window is a bad sign.

  Peabody, Mass.
• #705

  The opening of an umbrella in the house is a sign of bad luck.

  General in the United States.
• #706

  If you drop your umbrella, you will have ill luck if you pick it up yourself; but the ill luck may be averted by having some one else pick it up.

  Prince Edward Island.
• #707

  To carry a hoe through the house is ill luck.

  Alabama.
• #708

  To light three lights with one match is good luck for a week.

  Peabody, Mass.
• #709

  The falling of a chandelier foretells a disaster in the family.

  New York.
• #710

  Breaking a looking-glass shows that you’ll have seven years of ill luck.

  General in the United States.
• #711

  If a chair be turned about on one of its forelegs, there will be bad luck in the house all that year.

  Talladega, Ala.
• #712

  A mare-browed man, that is, one whose eyebrows meet, is unlucky and can cast spells.

  Newfoundland.
• #713

  It is unlucky, when going deer-hunting, to meet a red-haired man.

  Newfoundland.