E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Midden.
The kitchen midden. The dust-bin. The farmer’s midden is the dunghill. The word is Scotch. (Danish, mödding; Norwegian, mudder; Welsh, mwydo (to wet), our mud and mire.)
1
Better marry over the midden than over the moor. Better seek a wife among your neighbours whom you know than among strangers of whom you know nothing. The midden, in Scotland, is the domestic rubbish heap.
2
Ilka cock craws loodest on its ain midden. In English, “Every cock crows loudest on his own dunghill.” A midden is an ash-pit, a refuse-heap.
