- English translation
Keep it tucked in your sleeve so you won't be sorry later.
- Literal wording
Take it in your sleeve, lest it bring you grief.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying never names what "it" is; the image is of a worshipper who removes his heavy slipper at a mosque doorway, as custom requires. Rather than leave it among the other shoes, where a thief might take it, he tucks it into his wide sleeve.
As a saying, it urges prudence: protect what belongs to you instead of trusting luck. A small effort at precaution now spares the regret and annoyance that follow a careless loss.
- When it is used
Say it to someone about to leave something valuable unattended or trust it to chance, especially in a crowded place. It works as a friendly prompt to keep one's belongings close rather than as a rebuke.
- Register
- Colloquial Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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