54 motifs match “neither”  ·  back to the chapters

• Snipe from man admitted neither to heaven nor to hell. A1942.1
• Smith outwits devil, is admitted to neither heaven nor hell. The devil gives him a light to find his way back in the dark; he is known as the will-o'-the-wisp or jack-o'-lantern. A2817.1
• Wicked man constructs tower neither too large nor too high. (Santa Barbara.) C771.1.1
• Tub of water dropped neither breaks nor spills. F1081
• Maiden (to king): The house has neither eyes nor ears. (No child at window nor dog in yard to announce king's approach: he therefore finds her not dressed to receive him.) H583.8
• Riddle: who, having neither father nor mother, are dead? (Adam and Eve.) H813
• Riddle: what is that which is neither man nor jinn nor beast nor bird? (Louse and ant.) H862
• Task: coming neither on nor off the road. (Comes in the rut or the ditch at side of the road.) H1051
• Task: standing neither inside nor outside of gate. (Forefeet of horse inside, hind feet outside.) H1052
• Task: coming neither on horse nor on foot (riding nor walking). H1053
• Task: coming neither on horse nor on foot. (Comes on another animal.) H1053.1
• Task: coming neither on horse nor on foot. (Comes sitting on animal but with feet reaching ground.) H1053.2
• Task: coming neither on horse nor on foot. (Comes with one leg on animal's back, one on ground.) H1053.3
• Task: coming neither on horse nor on foot. (Coming drawn by an animal on net, trough, or sledge.) H1053.4
• Task: coming neither on horse nor on foot. (Walks on a stick horse.) H1053.5
• Task: coming neither on horse nor on foot. (Crawls on all fours.) H1053.6
• Task: coming neither naked nor clad. H1054
• Task: coming neither naked nor clad. (Comes wrapped in net or the like.) H1054.1
• Task: coming neither naked nor clad. (Comes clothed in own hair.) H1054.2
• Task: coming neither naked nor clad. (Comes with part of body clothed.) H1054.3
• Task: coming "neither in softness nor in hardness." (Comes clad in garments of mountain down.) H1054.4
• Task: coming neither barefoot nor shod. (Comes with one shoe on, one off; or in soleless shoes.) H1055
• Task: coming neither with nor without a present (game). (Lets bird fly as the reaches it toward king.) H1056
• Task: coming neither by day nor by night. (Comes at twilight.) H1057
• Task: coming neither with nor without a companion. (Comes with an animal.) H1061
• Task: coming neither washed nor unwashed. (Comes partly washed.) H1062
• Task: coming neither hungry nor satiated. (Eats a thin soup, a leaf, a single grain, or the like.) H1063
• Task: filling glasses with water that has neither fallen from heaven nor sprung from the earth. (Uses horse's sweat.) H1073
• Task: furnish beef which is neither male nor female. Countertask: send for it when it is neither night nor day. H1074
• Task: bringing something ever-increasing (ambition); something ever-decreasing (life); something which neither increases nor decreases (one's fated lot); and something which both increases and decreases (universe). H1075
• Task: building house neither on ground nor in sky. H1077
• Task: letting king hear something that neither he nor his subjects have ever heard. (Reads a letter from a foreign king demanding a loan.) H1182
• Quest for wood neither crooked nor straight. (Sawdust.) H1378.1
• Serpent (bird) having injured man refuses reconciliation. He knows that neither can forget their injuries. J15
• Bad choice between poor and miserly man. Neither makes good leader. J229.6
• Elephant and ape debate about superiority. Owl gives them task neither can perform and ends futile debate. J461.8
• "But by a fine fellow!" Dying toad thus comforts his paramour, the frog, whom he is leaving neither married nor widow nor maiden and pregnant. J865.1
• Painted jackal admitted neither to the peacocks nor to the jackals. J951.4.1
• Reductio ad absurdum: the decision about the colt. A man ties his mare to a second man's wagon. The mare bears a colt which the wagon-owner claims, saying that the wagon has borne a colt. Real owner of the colt shows the absurdity (1) by fishing in the street or (2) by telling that his wife is shooting fish in the garden. Neither of these things are so absurd as the decision. J1191.1
• Not in his line of business. At market a man enquires of another: "How is the moon, three-quarters or full?" "I don't know. I have neither bought nor sold one." J1354
• St. Peter not guiltless. Soldiers are admitted neither to hell nor to heaven. They remind Peter of his denial of Christ. He admits them. J1616
• Which is coldest season? Rainy season or winter (debate between animals). Solution by man as umpire: neither as cold as windy season. J1664.1
• Deceptive bargain with ogre: buying trees. Trees to be neither straight nor crooked. K186
• Leopard and crocodile both sent for the dog. Neither has seen a dog nor have they seen each other. Man sends them to the same place saying that the dog will be there. They kill each other. K978.1.1
• To get "nothing" and to show it. Wife pushes lecherous king first into glue and then in the closet with feathers. That is "nothing" – neither bird nor man. K1218.1.8
• Giant cursed: may neither heaven nor earth receive him. M445
• Father-son combat. Neither knows who the other is. (Sohrab and Rustem.) N731.2
• Friends offer to die for each other. (Bürgschaft.) Each falsely confesses crime so as to save the other. Neither guilty. Often combined with P325. P315
• Hospitality to saint repaid: neither he nor his posterity will ever be hurt by venomous creatures. Q45.1.3
• Mysterious animal punishes penitent. Returning from the pope he is met by a mysterious animal who jumps on his back. Then in the man's room, whither he has carried the animal, a three hours' noise is heard as of a fight. Neither man nor beast is found in the room. (Cf. Q557.) Q554.5
• Man admitted to neither heaven nor hell. He has tricked the devil. Q565
• Person to be received by neither earth nor heaven. Q565.1
• Two stubborn goats meet each other on a bridge. Neither will step aside; both fall into water. W167.1
• Parson: Where was Christ when he was neither in heaven nor on earth? – He was in the willow-grove looking for a stick to beat those who ask foolish questions. X435.3