- English translation
"He got the news from his own uncle!" — "Every person is taken up with his own state."
- Literal wording
He brought the news from his maternal uncle's place. He said: every person is distracted by his own state.
- Meaning and lesson
A report about others is urged on someone as certain because it came through a close relative, a maternal uncle. The listener waves it away anyway, answering that each person is already absorbed in his own situation and has little room left for the affairs of anyone else.
The saying sets an assurance that the news is sound against a flat refusal to take it up. Rather than weighing the report, the reply turns to a general observation: everyone is occupied with his own condition, so other people's news, however well vouched for, is set aside.
- When it is used
Fits as a retort when someone presses news about other people on you, even news offered as reliable, and you prefer to leave it alone, noting that everyone is absorbed in his own situation. It can sound curt toward the person sharing the report.
Cite or copy proverb
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Report an issue with this meaning: "He got the news from his own uncle!" — "Every person is taken up with his own state."