- English translation
Never buy poor iron, however bright its coating; sooner or later its base metal will show through.
- Literal wording
Never buy the stock of bad iron; even if it were whitened heavily, its origin would bring it to ruin.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying warns against being taken in by a fine surface when what lies beneath is inferior. Bad metal can be whitened with a bright coating such as tinning until it gleams, but sooner or later its poor kind breaks through and spoils it. One version names copper, the metal commonly tinned, instead of iron.
Applied to people, it describes someone thought to be of base character or ignoble roots whose polished manners may impress for a while. The claim is that such a person's true nature will eventually show, though judging individuals by their origin in this way reflects a prejudice rather than a fair rule.
- When it is used
Said as a warning against trusting someone whose basic character is thought to be mean or base, however polished they seem, often before a deal or partnership. Because it judges people by origin or stock, applying it to individuals can sound harsh, snobbish or prejudiced.
- Register
- Colloquial Arabic, proverbial; metrical in form, with an end rhyme between nasluh and asluh
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Never buy poor iron, however bright its coating; sooner or later its base metal will show through.