- English translation
Like a raider from the Tatars: he neither pines for the one who has gone nor takes pleasure in the one who has come.
- Literal wording
Like the Ghuzz Tattar: he does not make him lonesome for the one who is away, nor does he make him at ease with the one who is present.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying describes a person who attends only to his own interests and neglects the affairs of others. Friends who leave do not stir his longing, and visitors who arrive do not bring him pleasure, so his attention stays fixed on himself.
The comparison draws on a stereotype that Tatar raiders were coarse and harsh by temperament. That image is a prejudiced one and not an accurate description of any people. The rebuke targets the individual's indifference to others, not the Tatars themselves.
- When it is used
Apply it critically to someone absorbed in his own concerns who shows no longing for absent friends and no welcome for visitors, ignoring others' needs. It is a sharp rebuke of selfish indifference and is unsuitable for affectionate teasing or neutral description.
- Register
- colloquial Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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