- English translation
A Copt with no craftiness is like a tree that bears no fruit.
- Literal wording
A Copt without cunning is a tree without yield.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying rests on a disparaging stereotype that attributes cunning to Copts as a group and grants them no other merit. On that assumption, a Copt who lacks shrewd scheming is judged worthless, much as a tree that produces no fruit is thought to serve no purpose.
The comparison judges someone by a single trait expected of them and dismisses them entirely once that trait is absent. Because it pins one fixed character on a whole group, the saying works as a disparaging generalization rather than a neutral observation about any individual.
- When it is used
The saying assigns a fixed trait to an entire group and is unsuitable for neutral or approving use. Quote it only when discussing the stereotype it expresses, and make its disparaging premise clear. Do not apply it casually or approvingly to any person.
- Register
- Derogatory
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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