- English translation
Just like the Jews' reading: two parts out of three are lies.
- Literal wording
Like the reading of the Jews: two-thirds of it is lies.
- Meaning and lesson
The proverb accuses someone of being mostly dishonest: whatever they say, the greater share is fabricated. It is aimed at a habitual liar whose statements cannot be trusted; the fraction 'two-thirds' is a rhetorical exaggeration meaning 'most of it,' stressing that falsehood outweighs truth.
Its force comes from a comparison that slanders Jews, claiming their reading or recitation is largely false. It is a prejudiced expression, not a harmless quip: the insult depends on an ethnic and religious stereotype built into the image, which is recorded here, not endorsed.
- When it is used
Aimed at a person whose talk is judged to be largely untrue, often dismissively. Because it insults Jews as a religious group, it belongs only in discussion or documentation of the proverb, not in everyday use as a casual put-down.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Just like the Jews' reading: two parts out of three are lies.