- English translation
Like a fish that touches the hook only with its tail.
- Literal wording
Like the fish, it goes down onto the hooks with its tail.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying pictures a fish that approaches fishing hooks hung on a line only with its tail, never its mouth, so the barb finds nothing to catch and the fish stays free. If every fish behaved this way, no angler would ever land one. The image celebrates instinctive wariness that keeps a creature out of reach of any snare.
Applied to people, it describes someone highly vigilant and slow to trust, who engages with tempting or dangerous situations only tentatively. Such a person samples, probes, and keeps an escape open, making them nearly impossible to trick, pressure, or entrap through bait or flattery.
- When it is used
Use this of someone who stays alert and wary, testing a risky offer, deal, or person only at arm's length so they never get trapped. It usually carries admiration for shrewd caution, though it can also hint that the person is hard to win over.
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- Colloquial Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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