Weather sayings

Weather sayings, explained

English is full of weather. Here is what the sayings mean, where they come from, which bits of weather lore hold up, and what I think of each of them.

• Under the weather

  Feeling a bit off: not properly ill, just not right. It is the polite way to say you would rather be on the sofa.

  Under the weather: the only forecast where the weather is fine and you are not.

• Raining cats and dogs

  Raining very hard: the heavy, bouncing-off-the-pavement kind of rain.

  Raining cats and dogs. As a cat app, I would like to state that no cat would agree to this.

• Red sky at night

  A red sunset means fair weather tomorrow; a red sunrise (“red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning”, or sailor’s warning) means rain may be on its way.

  Red sky at night: the one forecast that comes with a nice view and no app.

• April showers bring May flowers

  A bit of misery now pays off later: spring rain is what makes the flowers.

  April showers, May flowers, and June pollen, which nobody puts on a poster.

• Dog days of summer

  The hottest, slowest stretch of summer, roughly July into August, when everything feels sluggish.

  The dog days of summer: named after a star, enjoyed by nobody.

• Fair-weather friend

  Someone who is around when things are good and vanishes when they are not.

  A fair-weather friend is just a sunny day with a phone number.

• Rain check

  To turn something down for now with the idea of doing it another time.

  A rain check is the most polite no in the English language, and it is a weather word.

• Right as rain

  Perfectly fine again: recovered, sorted, back to normal.

  Right as rain: only the British would pick rain as the gold standard for feeling fine.

• Brass monkeys

  Very cold. Short for “cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey”, and mostly British.

  Brass monkeys: the British way of saying it is cold without admitting to feelings.

• Weather vs whether

  “Weather” is what is happening in the sky. “Whether” means “if”, as in “whether or not”. There is also “wether”, a castrated ram, which comes up less.

  Weather or not you spell it right, it is still going to rain.

• Weather permitting

  If the weather allows it. The plan is on unless the sky says otherwise.

  Weather permitting: the two words that give the sky a veto over your weekend.

• Every cloud has a silver lining

  Something good comes out of most bad situations, if you look for it.

  Every cloud has a silver lining, and also rain. The lining is doing a lot of work.

• Make hay while the sun shines

  Make the most of a good chance while it lasts.

  Make hay while the sun shines, because the sun has a very short attention span.

• Nice weather for ducks

  It is pouring. Said with a sigh, mostly in Britain.

  Nice weather for ducks. The ducks would like to point out they never asked for it either.

• Taps aff

  Scottish for “tops off”: a day warm enough for people to take their shirts off outside.

  Taps aff: the only forecast Scotland is genuinely excited about.

• It never rains but it pours

  Bad things tend to come all at once. In the US, “when it rains, it pours” is more common.

  It never rains but it pours: the weather’s version of a group chat.

• Come rain or shine

  Whatever happens: the thing will go ahead regardless.

  Come rain or shine, said nobody who checked the forecast first.

• Save for a rainy day

  Keep something back for when times get hard. Usually money, sometimes biscuits.

  Saving for a rainy day assumes there will be just the one.

• Mackerel sky

  A sky of small, rippled clouds that look like fish scales (“mackerel sky”), often with long wispy streaks (“mares’ tails”). The full saying adds that they “make tall ships carry low sails”, meaning wind is on its way.

  A mackerel sky: the sky dressed up as a fish to tell you it might rain.

• Ring around the moon

  A pale ring around the moon is said to mean rain or snow is coming.

  A ring around the moon: the sky’s way of saying it has seen the forecast too.

• Cows lying down means rain

  The idea that cows sense rain coming and lie down to keep a dry patch of grass.

  Cows lying down means rain. Cows standing up means cows.

• Rain before seven, fine by eleven

  Early morning rain tends to clear up by late morning.

  Rain before seven, fine by eleven, wet again by lunch. They left that bit out.

• Snowed under

  Overwhelmed, usually with work: too much coming in to keep up.

  Snowed under: the only snow most people get all winter.

• Head in the clouds

  Daydreaming, not paying attention to what is happening around you.

  Head in the clouds: lovely view, terrible signal.

The ruder ones, from swamp ass to it’s brick, are on their own page: rude weather sayings, explained.