i know that there is a ryme for this and its says that 4 fo a boy what doesn this mean?
5 Answers
-
In the British Isles a widespread (mainly found in England and Scotland and less common in Wales and Northern Ireland) traditional rhyme records the myth (it is not clear whether it has been seriously believed) that seeing magpies predicts the future, depending on how many are seen. There are many regional variations on the rhyme, which means that it is impossible to give a definitive version.
The rhyme runs:
One for anger
Two for mirth
Three for a wedding
Four for a birth
Five for rich
Six for poor
Seven for a witch
I can tell you no more.
Alternate versions of this counting rhyme include:
One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.
or
One for sorrow
Two for mirth
Three for a funeral
Four for a birth
Five for heaven
Six for hell
Seven’s the Devil his own sel’
Sometimes (but rarely), three extra lines are added:
Eight for a wish
Nine for a kiss
Ten for a bird that you won’t want to miss.
A related superstition is that one should make sure to greet magpies – perhaps saying “Hello, Mr Magpie” – when encountering lone birds; this possibly stems from the unlucky connotations attributed by the rhymes to seeing merely one magpie. To cancel out this bad luck, and with relation to the second line of the verse accounting for joy or mirth, lone magpies are often greeted “Hello Mr Magpie, how is your wife/where is your wife?” Another superstition relating to magpies’ supposed bad luck is that upon seeing a lone magpie one should repeat the words “I defy thee” seven times. Another superstition is that on seeing a lone magpie one should pinch the person they are walking with, if they are alone they are to pinch themselves. Another is that if a lone Magpie is seen, one should salute it to show you respect it. This formality can be forgone if the Magpie looks directly in your eyes, which shows it respects you.
But as the first answer indicated, superstitions are silly wive’s tales.
King
-
4 Magpies
-
King did a good job of listing the magpie rhyme.
“4 for boy” usually means that if you are pregnant you will have a boy. However, it could also mean that a boy is going to come soon.
-
1 for sorrow
2 for joy
3 for a girl
4 for a boy
5 for silver
6 for gold
7 for a secret never to be told.
It’s just a rhyme. It doesn’t mean anything.
-
that you saw 4 birds. omens are ridiculous.