- English translation
Like a camel that kicks its leg out behind as it walks: he lays bare everyone else's flaws but cannot see his own.
- Literal wording
Like the camel: it walks and flings its foot backward; he shows up people's faults, and his own faults he does not see.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying mocks the faultfinder who points out what is wrong with everyone else yet never notices their own defects. The camel is the picture: it flings a leg out behind as it walks, a flaw in its own gait rather than a kick aimed at anyone, and, unable to see it, assumes its stride is flawless.
The deeper lesson concerns self-ignorance rather than mere hypocrisy. Our own failings often sit where we cannot easily look, much as the camel's flaw trails behind it. Anyone eager to judge others is reminded that the same blindness may apply to them, and that self-examination should come before criticism.
- When it is used
Said of someone quick to criticize or expose others while blind to their own shortcomings. It works as a pointed rebuke or a wry aside, and can sting because it compares the critic to a camel with an awkward gait.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Like a camel that kicks its leg out behind as it walks: he lays bare everyone else's flaws but cannot see his own.