The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs (85 page)
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Monday's CHILD is fair of face
Each line of the verse (quot. 1838) may be used separately. Examples relating to different days of the week are illustrated here for convenience. In quot. 1838 ‘Christmas’ is an unusual variant, ‘Sabbath’ being far more common.
1838
Traditions of Devon
II. 287
Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child works hard for its living, And a child that's born on the Christmas day Is fair and wise and good and gay.
1915
Salute to Adventurers
i.
I was a Thursday's bairn, and so, according to the old rhyme,‘had far to go’.
1935
Journal
12 Nov. in
Dai Greatcoat
(1980) II. 81
Which day's child is ‘loving and giving’ in the rhyme?.. Is it Wednesday's?
1957
Testament of Experience
I. ii.
From the outset Shirley sustained the nursery adage which commends ‘Sunday's child’, for she put on weight steadily and was the easiest of infants to rear.
1980
Setting World on Fire
II. iii.
She showed her contrition by stroking his hair. ‘Saturday's child works hard for his living,’ she murmured.
1997
Washington Post
18 Dec. C27
Monday's child is fair of face. | Tuesday's child is full of grace. | Wednesday's child is full of woe. | Thursday's child has far to go. | Friday's child is loving and giving. | Saturday's child works hard for a living. | And the child born on the Sabbath day | Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.
children
1838Traditions of Devon
II. 287
Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child works hard for its living, And a child that's born on the Christmas day Is fair and wise and good and gay.
1915
Salute to Adventurers
i.
I was a Thursday's bairn, and so, according to the old rhyme,‘had far to go’.
1935
Journal
12 Nov. in
Dai Greatcoat
(1980) II. 81
Which day's child is ‘loving and giving’ in the rhyme?.. Is it Wednesday's?
1957
Testament of Experience
I. ii.
From the outset Shirley sustained the nursery adage which commends ‘Sunday's child’, for she put on weight steadily and was the easiest of infants to rear.
1980
Setting World on Fire
II. iii.
She showed her contrition by stroking his hair. ‘Saturday's child works hard for his living,’ she murmured.
1997
Washington Post
18 Dec. C27
Monday's child is fair of face. | Tuesday's child is full of grace. | Wednesday's child is full of woe. | Thursday's child has far to go. | Friday's child is loving and giving. | Saturday's child works hard for a living. | And the child born on the Sabbath day | Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.
childrenThe CHILD is the father of the man
An assertion of the unity of character from youth to manhood. Cf.
1671
MILTON
Paradise Regained
IV. 220 The childhood shews the man, As morning shews the day.
1807
Poems
(1952) I. 226
My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began … The Child is father of the Man.
1871
Character
ii.
The influences which contribute to form the character of the child .. endure through life … ‘The child is father of the man.’
1907
Father & Son
xii.
We are the victims of hallowed proverbs, and one of the most classic of these tells us that ‘the child is the father of the man’.
1979
Victorian Historical Novel
v.
The lonely, politically involved child, is father to the man who only slowly grasps the meaning of his experience.
children
;
human nature
1671
MILTON
Paradise Regained
IV. 220 The childhood shews the man, As morning shews the day.
1807Poems
(1952) I. 226
My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began … The Child is father of the Man.
1871
Character
ii.
The influences which contribute to form the character of the child .. endure through life … ‘The child is father of the man.’
1907
Father & Son
xii.
We are the victims of hallowed proverbs, and one of the most classic of these tells us that ‘the child is the father of the man’.
1979
Victorian Historical Novel
v.
The lonely, politically involved child, is father to the man who only slowly grasps the meaning of his experience.
children;
human nature
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