- English translation
If the dog ever took a hard look at itself, it wouldn't go flapping its ears so proudly.
- Literal wording
If the dog looked into its own state, it would not be shaking its ears.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying pictures a dog flicking its ears in self-satisfied display, and suggests that this vanity would vanish if the animal honestly took stock of what it is worth. The pride exists only because the dog has never measured itself against reality.
Applied to people, it mocks someone of low worth or modest standing who behaves with conceit and self-admiration. The barb is that such a person lacks the self-awareness to see their true condition, and would behave humbly if they ever did.
- When it is used
Use this to ridicule a conceited person of little standing. Because likening a person to a dog is a strong insult in Arabic, it can cause serious offense; it suits banter among intimates or sharp criticism, not polite or formal settings, and is usually said of someone, not to them.
- Register
- Colloquial Arabic; derisive and pointed
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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