- English translation
Like a crow flaunting its defective eye.
- Literal wording
Like the crow showing off with the defect of its eye.
- Meaning and lesson
The picture is of a crow strutting and preening while one of its eyes is visibly defective; the Arabic word may refer specifically to loss of sight in one eye. The bird treats the very thing that marks it as flawed as something to display, and the comparison invites laughter at that mismatch.
Applied to people, the saying ridicules someone who flaunts an obvious shortcoming as though it were an ornament. The mockery lies in the contrast between the showy confidence and the defect on open display.
- When it is used
Suited to teasing or sharp criticism of someone who shows off a trait that others plainly see as a weakness. Because it likens the person to a damaged crow, it can land as an insult when aimed directly at someone; keep it to settings where pointed ridicule is acceptable.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Like a crow flaunting its defective eye.