- English translation
He's like the eggplant seller, who never gives his friend anything but the black ones.
- Literal wording
Like the eggplant seller: he gives his friend nothing as a gift except the black one.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying targets a person from whom nothing good ever seems to come. Whatever they hand over, whether a gift, a favor, or a remark, turns out to be something unpleasant or unwelcome, just as the seller's present is always the dark eggplant (called by a vernacular name in the saying).
The image has an ironic edge. To a seller, the darkest eggplant is the ripest and therefore the best, yet its blackness makes it an unattractive gift. The comparison suggests that this person's offerings may look generous from their own point of view, but they always arrive in a disagreeable form.
- When it is used
Use it to describe someone whose contributions, favors, or words are reliably unpleasant, especially when they seem to offer something. Because it criticizes a person, it can sound insulting when applied directly to someone; it suits informal complaint or teasing among friends, not polite or formal speech.
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- Colloquial Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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