Madam, - David Grant's persuasive letter of May 3rd almost led me to "cast a clout" - prematurely - before the month was out by arguing that "may" refers to the hawthorn blossom and not the month in the old saying: "Ne'er cast a clout till May be out". However, I was saved from the possibility of suffering a May chill, or worse, by my friend Emilio who said that in Spain they say: "Hasta Mayo no te quites el sayo." ("Do not leave off your coat till May.")
It seems likely it was the calendar rather than the wayside thorn that guided our forebears in their choice of seasonal dress. The Oxford English Dictionary, in its illustrative quotations, gives support by citing this proverb under "May" the month instead of "may" the blossom. - Yours, etc,
KEN MAWHINNEY, Clonard Drive, Dublin 16.
Madam, - I think David Grant is incorrect. "Out" has been defined in several dictionaries as "at an end". In addition, F.K. Robinson's Whitby Glossary(1855) has the following:
"The wind at North and East
Was never good for man
nor beast,
So never think to cast a clout
Until the month of May
be out."
- Yours, etc,
BRENDAN O'DONNELL, Kilcolman Court, Glenageary, Co Dublin.