smiths have the worst spoons

(-s; pl. -ar and -ir), m. smith, wright, worker in metal or wood.

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m., gen. smiðs, old plur. smiðar, acc. smiða; thus goll-smiðar, goll-smiða, smiðarnir, Mar. (xxxvi, xxxvii, in an old vellum fragment); but smiðir, 733 sqq. l. c.; smiðar, Hkr. i. 293; acc. smiða, 185, Grág. i. 149: the mod. usage is smiðir, smiði: the acc. smiðu, Stj. 362, l. 3, Fms. ix. 377, is less correct: [Ulf. smiþa; A. S. smið; Engl. smith; Dan.-Swed. smed; Germ. schmied]:—a smith, craftsman, wright, of workers in metals and wood, ship or house-building; járn-s., tré-s., stein-s., gull-s., skip-s., knarrar-s., skó-s., skepti-s., höfuð-s., frum-s., q. v.; himna-s., the artificer of the heavens, Fbr.; þá kom þar s. nokkurr ok bauð at göra þeim borg, Edda 25, 26, Fms. ix. 55; hann var stafna-s. at skipinu, Hkr. i. 293; vóru þá smiðar þar áðr komnir, id., Fms. v. 74; ens hæsta smiðs, Greg. 20, Eluc. 7; ú skulu smiðir fé taka, Gþl. 80; smiðar þeir er hús göra, Grág. i. 149; fá smiða til at skíra silfrit, Hkr. i. 185: the saying, fár er smiðr í fyrsta sinni, none is ‘smith’ (master) the first time; and leggja smiðs-höggið á e-ð, to give the smith’s stroke, the master’s stroke, i. e. the finish to a thing; smiðir hafa spánu versta, smiths have the worst spoons (speaking of ornamental spoons), i. e. smiths keep the worst for their own use.

II. Smiðr, a nickname and pr. name, Landn. (cp. Rm. 21, Ann. 1362, Engl. Smith); Smið-kell, Smið-Skeggi, Landn.