- English translation
If you weren't mangy, you'd be roaring and flaunting your bluster.
- Literal wording
Were it not for the mange, you would be striking out with your throat sac.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying speaks to a camel kept quiet by mange. A healthy, excited male would roar and thrust out its throat sac (qulla here, not a water jug) in a show of temper, but the sick animal stays subdued because of its condition, not its nature.
Applied to people, it exposes someone whose good behavior is really just incapacity. Their meekness comes from a defect or misfortune holding them back. Remove that handicap and their urge toward mischief would surface again.
- When it is used
Said mockingly to or about someone whose aggression is held in check only by some ailment, setback, or handicap. It is disparaging, suited to scolding or teasing between familiar people, and can wound if aimed at someone's real illness or disability.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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