Ná caith an t-uisce salach amach go mbeadh an t-uisce glan istigh
Word for wordDo not throw the dirty water out until the clean water is in
What it meansKeep what you have until the replacement is real.
Approximate pronunciation guide
naw kah un TISH-keh SOL-ukh a-MOKH guh MEH-ukh un TISH-keh glon ish-CHEE
Written for English speakers and editorial rather than sourced. It will get you close enough to be understood, and it is not a substitute for a native speaker. Recorded audio is planned; see About.
When to use it For anyone about to quit the old job before the new one is signed.
About this saying
This one comes not from a dictionary but from an Aran Islands copybook: a Schools’ Collection page from Fearann an Choirce on Inis Mór, written in the late 1930s, in a list of proverbs a schoolchild gathered at home. The wording is carried exactly as the transcript gives it.
Provenance
Where this wording comes from. We publish nothing we cannot point at.
- Folklore archiveNational Folklore Collection: duchas.ieThe Schools' CollectionCBÉS 0001:262, Fearann an Choirce school, Inis Mór, Co. Galway; wording as transcribed