«لَبِّسِ الْخُنْفِسَهْ تِبْقَى سِتِّ النِّسَا»

The saying argues that outward adornment has enormous power over how people are judged. The beetle, a dark insect often linked with the dung beetle, stands for something seen as ugly or lowly; dress it in fine garments and ornaments, and onlookers will treat it as the most elegant of women.

It often works as mockery or a skeptical warning that admiration earned through clothing is shallow. Said of a real woman, it is insulting: it likens her to a beetle and implies her appeal comes only from her clothes, a judgment not to be endorsed.

Use it as a wry remark when someone or something looks far grander after being dressed up, decorated, or repackaged, implying the admiration owes more to finery than real quality. It carries a mocking edge, and aimed at an actual woman it becomes an insult.