Context:

He heard this in Jordan when he was a teenager. He said that “this comes [up] when there is a crucial discussion, and someone wants to know who is responsible for something. The person volunteered by the group would say ‘Ma t-hotni bi bouz el madfah’ because they are going to see the person’s first reaction.”

Text:

Original Script: ما تحطني ببوز المدفع

Transliteration: Ma t-hotni bi bouz el madfah

Literal Translation: Do not put me in face of cannon

Smooth Translation: Do not put me in front of the cannon

Thoughts:

I found this saying really funny, since it compares a person’s potentially unpleasant reaction to a loaded cannon. Although today was the first time I heard this, I remember experiencing the same feeling when there was bad news that had to be told to someone. People generally don’t like to be the bearer of bad news because of how the person might react. I find this saying to be similar to the English saying “Don’t shoot the messenger,” which is what the person would tell the recipient of the bad news. “Ma t-hotni bi bouz el madfah” captures the cross-cultural dislike of witnessing the first reaction of someone who was told bad news, since they might direct their anger or frustration towards the messenger. This may put a strain on the relationship between the messenger and person, and most people would not want to put unnecessary strain on their relationships.

Context:

He was in Jordan when he learned it as a kid from his Syrian neighbor, who has a proverb or saying for every single occasion. She would say this when she did not expect someone to do something right, but they do it right.

Text:

Original Script: ضربة الاعمى صيب

Transliteration: Darbet el ama saib

Literal Translation: The hit of the blind on target

Smooth Translation: The hit of the blind is on target

Thoughts:

Although I found the saying strange, it made sense after hearing the explanation; the probability of the person doing it right is like the probability of a blind person hitting a target. Because of its similarity to the English saying “Beginner’s luck,” this saying may be used to prevent someone from thinking too highly of themself. Since Arabic cultures are past-oriented,* this saying could be used to make sure that respect for elders who consistently do that task well is not lost.

*Alan Dundes talks about past-oriented and future-oriented cultures in his “Thinking Ahead: A Folkloristic Reflection of the Future Orientation in American Worldview.”Dundes, Alan. “Thinking Ahead: A Folkloristic Reflection of the Future Orientation in American Worldview.” Anthropological Quarterly 42, no. 2 (April 1969): 53–72. https://doi.org/ 10.2307/3316639.

Context:

He heard it at his grandma’s house in Jordan when he was around 6 years old. He says that the saying means “You are impatient.”

Text:

Original Script: بصلتك محروقة

Transliteration: Basiltak mahrou’a

Translation: Your onion is burnt

Thoughts:

This saying made little sense to me until I was told by someone else that onions burn quickly when being cooked. With that in mind, I made the connection that the impatient person is like a cooking onion: neither can wait for long. The purpose of this saying is to point out another person’s error in such a way that would have been easier to take than if it had been said plainly (“You’re impatient”). Although not technically a proverb, this saying does give a piece of advice in an indirect way.