The Ulsterman has no special repute for gallantry, yet his simile for anything exceptionally simple is, ‘As easy as kiss.’ His favourite phrase when about to impart some very confidential information is, ‘Between you and me and the post.’ A person whose sanity is open to question is often described as ‘Wanting a square of being round’—a curiously inexact expression. A person who gapes with wide-mouthed wonder is said to look ‘like a duck in thunder.’ Similarity of political or religious opinion is expressed in Ulster by saying that two people ‘Dig with the same foot.’ ‘A dead man’s plunge’ is a peculiar Ulster expression; it is applied to the short, sudden, and rather hollow sound made by a smooth flat pebble when it is tossed into the air and falls into water upon its edge. A large class of provincialisms are made up of asseverative expressions. The Ulsterman often prefaces his remarks by ‘Assay’ (I say) or ‘A’m sayin’’ (I’m saying). ‘May I never stir’ introduces some peculiarly solemn assertion. ‘A month of Sundays,’ and still more strongly, ‘All my born days,’ are emphatic expressions for long periods of time. ‘Dear help your wit’ expresses commiseration for the innocence and simplicity of the person addressed. Ulster adjurations are a curious medley, ‘Heth’ and ‘Feth’ being frequently used. ‘By Jaiminie King’ is a curious expression often heard in County Fermanagh. ‘Holy Farmer’ is another obscure form of oath. ‘Hokey oh’ is a phrase implying astonishment and alarm. ‘Hoker’ is used by Chaucer to express frowardness, and ‘Hocer’ in Anglo-Saxon meant a reproach. These words probably contain the clue to the origin of this obscure Ulster provincialism. Expressions conveying contempt or endearment are common. ‘Bad scran to you’ is a phrase of angry contempt. ‘Skran’ in Icelandic means ‘refuse.’ Milton used the word ‘scrannel’ (‘scrannel pipes’) to express poor or mean; and ‘scranny’ still survives in provincial English in this sense. ‘Bad cess to you’ is another Ulsterism of similar meaning, of which the origin is more doubtful; possibly ‘cess’ is a contraction for success. ‘Give me none of your back-talk’ is said by a superior to an inferior, meaning, ‘Don’t presume to argue the question with me.’ A ‘Tory rogue’ is still commonly used in Ulster in the sense of a scamp; but it is often applied to children in a playful sense. It is an interesting relic of the original meaning of the word Tory—an Irish outlaw or freebooter. A ‘tongue-thrashing’ is a vigorous phrase for a severe rebuke. ‘Carnaptious’ means quarrelsome and fault-finding. Some salutations are characteristic of the northern province. ‘How do you get your health?’ often takes the place of the more vague, ‘How do you do?’ ‘The top of the morning to you’ is a cheery way of saying ‘Good-morrow.’