«عَنْزَهْ وَلَوْ طَارِتْ»

The saying pokes fun at someone who will not let go of an opinion even once the evidence has openly refuted it. It recalls a short tale: a man took a distant shape for a goat, a companion found it was a kite, and even after the bird flew off the first man kept insisting.

The joke lies in the impossibility: a goat cannot fly, so insisting the flying creature is still a goat shows that pride or obstinacy, not observation, is driving the argument. The mockery falls on the stubbornness itself.

Aim it at someone who keeps defending a claim after clear proof has overturned it. The jab targets the refusal to back down, not the original mistake. Said directly about someone, it is a pointed criticism rather than a neutral remark.