Current Superstitions
Edited By Fanny D. Bergen
Chapter III.
Phisical Characteristics
BEAUTY.
101. If a person is very handsome, it is a sign that he will have one of the infectious diseases of childhood (measles, whooping cough, etc.) more than once.
Massachusetts.
DIMPLE.
102. Dimple in chin.
Devil within.
Chestertown, Md.
103. A dimple in the chin is lucky. Some say “it shows you’re no fool.”
104. A dimple is the mark left by the angel’s finger in turning up the face to kiss it when asleep.
Pennsylvania.
EARS.
105. Small ears indicate that a person is stingy. Large ones show that he is generous.
General.
106. Large ears are a mark of a liar. Small ears show that one is truthful.
Boston, Mass.
107. Long, slim ears are a sign that you will steal.
Chestertown, Md.
108. If the protuberance behind the ear is large, it indicates generosity.
Massachusetts.
EYES AND EYEBROWS.
109. Hazel eyes betoken a good disposition.
Boston, Mass.
110. If your eyebrows meet, you will be rich.
Somerville and Bedford, Mass.[33]
111. A well-known children’s rhyme runs:—
Blue-eye beauty, do your mammy’s duty!
Black eye, pick a pie,
Run around and tell a lie!
Gray-eye greedy gut
Eat all the world up!
General in the United States.
112. If the eyebrows meet, one is ill-tempered.
General in the United States.
113. If the eyebrows are far apart, you will live away from home; if near together, you will live near home, or at home.
Massachusetts.
114. Heavy eyebrows are a sign of long life.
Lawrence, Mass.
FINGER-NAILS.
115. Always keep your nails clean and you will be rich.
Peabody, Mass.
116. A white spot in the nail, when it comes, means a present. You get the present when it grows to the end and is cut.
Boston, Mass.
117. White spots on the nails of the left hand denote the number of lies one has told.
Maine and Central Illinois.
118. Count on finger-nail spots:—
Friends,
Foes,
Money,
Beaux.
Begin with the first nail spotted, and the noun falling to the last nail thus marked gives the sign.
Deerfield, Mass.
119. Another formula:—
(First finger) a friend,
(Second finger) a foe,
(Third finger) a gift,
(Fourth finger) a beau,
(Fifth finger) a journey to go.
Mansfield, O.
An almost identical variant is found in Prince Edward Island.[34]
FOOT.
120. If your instep is high enough to have water flow under it, you are of good descent.
Brookline, Mass.
121. A mole on the sole of the left foot means trouble and hardships during life.
Boston, Mass.
FOREHEAD.
122. If there is a blue vein in the child’s forehead extending down upon the nose, it is one of the surest signs of early death.
Maine and Massachusetts.
123. Vertical wrinkles in the brow show the number of husbands one will have. Horizontal ones show the number of children.
Northern Ohio.
HAIR.
124. Coarse hair indicates good nature; fine hair quick temper.
Northern Ohio.
125. Red hair indicates a “spit-fire.”
Massachusetts and Chestertown, Md.
126. Beware of that man,
Be he friend or brother,
Whose hair is one color
And moustache another.
Portland, Me.
127. The color of the hair growing on the neck indicates the color of the hair of one’s future husband.
128. A single white hair means genius; it must not be pulled out.
129. If you pull out a white hair, two will come in its place.
Somewhat general in the United States.
130. Hair growing upon the upper lip of a woman means riches.
Boston, Mass.
131. The point formed by the hair growing on the forehead is called “A widow’s peak.”
Eastern Massachusetts.
132. When a woman’s hair parts where it should not, it is a sure sign she will be a widow.
Springfield, Mass.
133. Draw a single hair from the head strongly between the thumb and finger-nail. If it curls up, you are proud.
St. John, N. B., and Prince Edward Island.[35]
The same result indicates that you are cross.
Cape Breton.
134. Hairy arms mean wealth.
Northern Ohio.
135. Hairy arms mean strength.
General in the United States.
136. Scrape the finger-nail and the thumb-nail along a hair, and if, by the third time, it curls up, the owner is high-tempered.
Boston, Mass.
137. Put some of your hair in the fire. If it burns slowly you will have a long life. If quickly, a short one.
Chestertown, Md.
HAND.
138. A straight line in the palm of the hand is an omen of early death.
Massachusetts.
139. The letter formed by the veins on the inside of the wrist is the initial of the name of the future husband or wife.
St. John, N. B.
140. A person with an initial in his hand will be very fortunate in selecting a companion for life.
Alabama.
141. In clasping your own hand, you put uppermost either your right or your left thumb. If the former, you are to rule; vice versa, you yield.
Brookline, Mass.
142. If the thumb sticks up in the closed fist, you are either capable or honest, probably the latter, as thieves are said to double theirs in.
New England.
143. If you cannot make your thumb and one finger meet around your wrist, you are a glutton.
Province of Quebec.
144. If you cannot touch the tips of your little finger and first finger together behind the two middle fingers, on both hands, then you will not marry the man you want to marry.
Province of Quebec.
145. Clasp your fingers, and if the right thumb lap over the left you were born in the daytime. If the left overlap, you were born at night.
146. The number of folds on your wrist as you bend your hand shows the number of thirties you are to live.
Massachusetts.[36]
147. If the ends of the fingers are capable of being bent far back, it indicates a thief.
MOLES.
148. A mole on the eyebrow denotes that one will be hanged. On the ear it denotes that he will be drowned.
Chestertown, Md.
149. Mole above breath
Means wealth.
150. Moles on the neck,
Money by the peck.
Prince Edward Island and Northern Ohio.
151. A mole on the neck indicates that its owner will be hanged.
Boston, Mass.
152. A mole on the side of the neck means a death by hanging.
Central Maine.
153. A mole on the arm indicates riches.
Boston, Mass.
154. Mole on your arm,
Live on a farm.
Alabama.
155. A mole on the arm means that you will fight many battles, and will be very successful in them.
Prince Edward Island.
NOSE.
156. A vein across the nose is an omen of short life.
General in the United States.
TEETH.
157. A broad space between the teeth indicates a liar.
Biddeford, Me.
158. Broad front teeth mean that one is generous.
Biddeford, Me.
159. A space between the two front upper incisors signifies wealth.
Mansfield, O.
160. If the front teeth are wide apart, it means one can’t keep a secret. If overlapping, one is close-mouthed.
Boston, Mass.
161. Do not trust people with pointed teeth.
Chestertown, Md.[37]
162. If you have a space between your teeth, it is a sign that you will die of consumption.
Baltimore, Md.
163. A lump (enlarged papilla) on the tongue is a sign one has told a lie.
Mansfield, O.[38]
Index | Next: Projects
Apples. Apple-seeds. Babies. Bed.
Bible. Birds. Buttons. Four-leaved
Clover. Counting. Daisy Petals. Doorway.
Eggs. Fingers. Garments. Letters of
the Alphabet. Midnight. Plants. Ring.
Stars. Tea-leaves. Walking Abroad.
Water. Various.