Meaning: Literal.
Background:
The word `clout', although archaic, is straightforward. Since at least the
early 15th century `clout' has been used variously to mean `a blow to the
head', `a clod of earth or (clotted) cream' or `a fragment of cloth, or
clothing'. It is the last of these that is meant in `cast a clout'. So,
`ne'er cast a clout...' simply means `never discard your [warm winter]
clothing...'.
The 'till May be out' part is where the doubt lies. On the face of it this
means `until the month of May is ended'.
There is another interpretation. In England, in May, you can't miss the
Hawthorn. It is an extremely common tree in the English countryside,
especially in hedges. Hawthorns are virtually synonymous with hedges. As many
as 200,000 miles of hawthorn hedge were planted in the Parliamentary
Enclosure period, between 1750 and 1850. The name `Haw' derives from `hage',
the Old English for `hedge'.
The tree gives its beautiful display of flowers in late April/early May. It
is known as the May Tree and the blossom itself is called May. Using that
allusion, 'till May is out' could mean, `until the hawthorn is out [in
bloom]'.
Other rhymes in which May is ambiguous are:
- ``April showers bring forth May flowers.
- Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
Putting the case for the month, as opposed to the flower...
...
All in all, although the May blossom interpretation seems appealing, the
`May' in this proverb is the month of May.
- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]
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May can be hawthorn!
I doubt that anyone would pick up this word/knowledge/culture/etc by passing
standard English tests. Or stood I alone none the wiser?
