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Arabic · Arabic scriptProverb: Verified

«زِدْنِي يَا نَقَاوِةْ عِينِي»

Meanings

Each meaning is reviewed on its own.

Meaning: Verified
English translation

Go on, give me more, you whom I handpicked myself!

Literal wording

Give me more, O pick of my eye.

Meaning and lesson

The saying is a sarcastic outcry from someone mistreated by the very person they singled out and championed. It calls the offender the pick of the speaker's own eye, a chosen favorite, not someone pure. The plea for more is bitter irony: the speaker protests harm already received, exposing a favorite who repays goodwill with injury.

Behind the phrase is a tale, as traditionally told, of a village headman who worked hard to get a certain man appointed governor over the district. The newly installed official's first act was to order his patron beaten, and the headman answered with these words in bitter mockery.

When it is used

Use it as a wry, rueful retort, never a literal request, when someone you backed, recommended, or raised up turns on you. It suits personal complaint more than formal accusation, and works best when the listener knows you once favored the offender.

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