- English translation
"Morning to you, one-eye," he said. "Now that's how a quarrel starts," she answered.
- Literal wording
He said: "Good morning, O one-eyed woman." She said: "This is a door of evil."
- Meaning and lesson
A courteous formula paired with a cutting remark exposes the speaker's real purpose. When a man greets a woman by naming her blindness in one eye, the greeting is not goodwill at all; it is a deliberate insult and the first move in a confrontation, and she rightly hears it as the opening of a quarrel.
More broadly, the saying describes a person already set on opposing someone whose choice of words betrays that hidden resolve. Whatever pleasant packaging the words carry, the hostility leaks through, and the alert listener recognizes that trouble has begun rather than being fooled by the polite surface.
- When it is used
Used when someone's opening words, however polite on the surface, reveal an intent to quarrel. It suits commentary on a pointed remark that signals coming hostility. The greeting mocks a physical trait, so the saying is quoted to describe such a situation, never to address anyone.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: "Morning to you, one-eye," he said. "Now that's how a quarrel starts," she answered.