God speed the plow

Posted by ESC on May 12, 2004

In Reply to: Where did gods speed come from and meaning?/ posted by lulabell on May 12, 2004

GOD SPEED THE PLOW -- "God speed the plough, 'a wish for success or prosperity,' was originally a phrase in a 15th-century song sung by ploughmen on Plough Monday, the first Monday after Twelfth Day, which is the end of the Christmas holidays, when farm laborers returned to the plough. On this day ploughmen customarily went from door to door dressed in white and drawing a plough, soliciting 'plough money' to spend in celebration. Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997).