I can certainly testify to the truth of the itchy palm thing - my OH is also Irish and when having itchy hands intones "Left to leave, right to receive" meaning that money is coming if the right hand itches and vice versa with the left - but it only seems to apply if I or someone else scratches the said palm. My mother (good Somerset stock) would never look at a new moon through glass and as kids on long car journeys, if we saw a white horse in a field we had to call out "white horse, white horse, bring me good luck". I think the traffic saying is more 'Sod's Law' MP, like if you light a cigarette at a bus stop a bus will come straight away. Very interesting Ridge- I think the rag, coin, ring thing is like the coin, thimble etc in xmas pud (the thimble meaning you'd end up an old maid).