ProverbHub
Arabic · Arabic scriptProverb: Verified

«قَاعِدْ يِنِش»

Meanings

Each meaning is reviewed on its own.

Meaning: Verified
English translation

He just sits there swatting flies.

Literal wording

Sitting, shooing away flies.

Meaning and lesson

The saying describes someone who is completely unoccupied. His only activity is brushing flies away, which makes this pointless motion a picture of empty hours and a lack of any real work.

As a remark, it draws attention to idleness by naming the single trivial thing the person is doing, so the absence of any genuine occupation becomes plain through that one small image.

When it is used

Use it of a person who has no work or task at hand and is passing the time without doing anything useful. The image of brushing off flies stands in for that empty, unoccupied state.

Cite or copy proverb

How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.

Report an issue with this meaning: He just sits there swatting flies.