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Arabic · Arabic scriptProverb: Verified

«لَا تْعَايِرْنِي وَلَا أَعَايْرَكْ دَا الْهَمِّ طَايِلْنِي وْطَايْلَكْ»

Meanings

Each meaning is reviewed on its own.

Meaning: Verified
English translation

Don't throw it in my face and I won't throw it in yours; this trouble has caught us both.

Literal wording

Do not reproach me and I will not reproach you; this worry has reached me and reached you.

Meaning and lesson

Two people who suffer the same misfortune have no standing to taunt each other over it. The verb عاير means shaming someone for a flaw, misfortune, or disgrace, sharper than ordinary criticism. Since the burden of worry and hardship has befallen both alike, any taunt would fall equally on the thrower, so the saying calls for mutual restraint.

The saying is built as two rhyming halves. The first pairs reciprocal verbs of taunting, and the second pairs matching forms of طايل, meaning the trouble has actually reached or befallen each speaker, not merely come near. This mirrored structure makes their equal footing audible and gives the reason neither should mock the other.

When it is used

Said to someone in the same predicament who starts taunting the speaker over it. It cuts off reproach between fellow sufferers and points to the hardship that has befallen them both. It suits informal exchanges among peers, neighbours, or relatives facing a common setback.

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