The English Gipsies and Their Language eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 247 pages of information about The English Gipsies and Their Language.

The English Gipsies and Their Language eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 247 pages of information about The English Gipsies and Their Language.

There are more things to come.  Spoken of food on a table, and equivalent to “Don’t go yet.” The appears to be used in this as in many other instances, instead of to for the sake of euphony.

The jivaben has jawed avree out of his gad.

The life has gone out of his shirt, i.e., body.  This intimates a long and close connection between the body and the under garment.  “Avree out of,” a phrase in which the Gipsy word is immediately followed by its English equivalent, is a common form of expression for the sake of clearness.

I toves my own gad.

I wash my own shirt.

A saying indicating celibacy or independence.

Mo rakkerfor a pennis when tute can’t lel it.

Don’t ask for a thing when you can’t get it.

The wongurs kairs the grasni jal.

Money makes the mare go.

It’s allers the boro matcho that pet-a-lay ’dree the panni.

It is always the largest fish that falls back into the water.

Bengis your see! Beng in tutes bukko!

The devil in your heart.  The devil in your body, or bowels.

This is a common form of imprecation among Gipsies all over the world.

Jawin sar a mush mullerin adree the boro naflo-ker.

Going like a man dying in the hospital.

Rikker it adree tute’s kokero see an’ kek’ll jin.

Keep it a secret in your own heart, and nobody will know it.

Del sar mush a sigaben to hair his jivaben.  Give every man a chance to make his living.

It’s sim to a choomer, kushti for kek till it’s pordered atween dui.

It’s like a kiss, good for nothing until it is divided between two.

A cloudy sala often purabens to a fino divvus.

A cloudy morning often changes to a fine day.

Iuzhiou panni never jalled avree from a chickli tan.

Clean water never came out from a dirty place.

Sar mush must jal to the cangry, yeck divvus or the waver.

Every man must go to the church (i.e., be buried) some day or other.

Kek mush ever lelled adusta mongur.

No man ever got money enough.

Pale the wafri bak jals the kushti bak.

Behind bad luck comes good luck.

Saw mushis ain’t got the sim kammoben as wavers.

All men have not the same tastes.

Lel the tacho pirro, an’ it’s pash kaired.

Well begun is half done.

Whilst tute’s rakkerin the cheiruses jal.

While you are talking the times (hours) fly.

Wafri bak in a boro ker, sim’s adree a bitti her.

There may be adversity in a large house as well as in a small one.

The kushtiest covvas allers jal avree siggest.

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The English Gipsies and Their Language from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.