- English translation
A woman who always ferrets out and carries gossip.
- Literal wording
“Mother of ʿibar (cautionary lessons), the one who hauls in the news.”
- Meaning and lesson
This traditionally used saying portrays a woman who persistently seeks out other people’s affairs, especially matters they would rather keep hidden. She is imagined as unusually skilled at discovering private news and making it known.
It is a strongly disapproving, gendered label for a woman associated with gossip: listening for rumors, probing into confidential matters, and passing reports from person to person. It should not be read as endorsing stereotypes about women or curiosity.
- When it is used
Use it only with care to describe a woman seen as prying into private affairs and repeating what she learns. It is disparaging, can be offensive when directed at a real person, and carries gendered assumptions that should not be endorsed.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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