- English translation
He's trying to sell roses to the people who pick them.
- Literal wording
He sells the roses to their pickers.
- Meaning and lesson
The image is absurd on purpose: the people who pick roses every day have no reason to pay anyone for them. The saying mocks effort aimed at the wrong audience, where something is offered to the very people least likely to need it.
It also targets the person who tries to dazzle specialists with what they already know thoroughly. Such a display impresses no one and often looks foolish, because the listeners mastered that subject long ago and see through the attempt at once.
- When it is used
Say it when someone offers goods, advice, or knowledge to people who already have plenty of it, especially to impress experts. It judges a person's behavior, so aimed directly at someone it can sound dismissive; it ranges from mild teasing among friends to sharper rebuke.
- Register
- Colloquial; the wording reflects spoken dialectal Arabic rather than formal written Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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