I discovered an interesting idiom in Scottish Gaelic today: beul ri beul na h-oidhche, which means near nightfall, or literally “mouth to mouth with the night”. Are there interesting expressions in other languages for different times of the day?
The word beul /bial̪ˠ/ means mouth; beginning; opening; edge; gunwale, and in found in such expressions as:
- beul an latha = daybreak
- beul na h-oidhche = nightfall, dusk
- eadar beul-oidhche is beul-latha = from dusk till dawn
- beul-aithris = folklore, oral tradition
- am beul a’ bhaile = on everyone’s lips (“in the mouth of the town”)
- beul air gualainn = blabbermouth, without reticence, not to hold back (“mouth on shoulder”)
- beul fo bhonn = upside down (“mouth under sole”)
- beul gun phutan = chatterbox, blabbermouth, unable to keep a secret (“a mouth without a button”)
- port á beul = lilting, mouth music
Source: Am Faclair Beag
