1849 Athenaeum 911 [Black Isle, Ross.] Warts are infallibly cured by rubbing the part affected secretly against the body of a man who has had the misfortune, after marriage, to become the father of an illegitimate child.
1923 [Castle Cary, Som.] To cry on your birthday - to cry every day of the year
1899 Newcastle Weekly Chronicle 4 Feb. 7 [Jesmond] It is unlucky to sit next to an empty chair
1684 H. WOOLEY Queen-like Closet Suppl. 38. For the cramp - Eelskins are good to be about the naked leg to prevent the cramp… and tied just above the knees as a cure and preventive of rheumatism.
1895 S.O. ADDY Household Tales 78. Half of a freshly cut raw onion will mitigate the pain, split the cane, and at the same time hurt the master’s hand.
(HENDERSON Northern Counties 1879, 21) It is unlucky for a swine to cross the path in front of a wedding-party. “If a pig cross your path, some terrible misfortune presently will befall the marriage.”
1755 Connoisseur 20 Feb. If you stumble up stairs (by accident) you will be married in the same year.
1688 AUBREY Remaines (1881, 99) ‘Tis an old receiv’d opinion, That if two doe piss together they shall quarrell.