- English translation
No sooner did he take up dealing in henna than sorrows multiplied.
- Literal wording
He came to trade in henna; the sorrows grew many.
- Meaning and lesson
The image is of a man who sets up as a henna merchant, henna being the dye people use at weddings and in times of joy. Right as he enters this trade, sorrows grow more numerous, and his business goes slack, a turn blamed on his own poor luck.
The saying is aimed at a rash risk-taker who launches some venture only to find his market dull and stagnant. It frames the failure as a matter of misfortune: he chose his undertaking, and circumstances happened to turn against it.
- When it is used
Applied to someone who gambled on a new undertaking and saw it stall, blaming the result on bad luck rather than the plan. Because it treats failure as ill fortune, aiming it at someone in real hardship may seem unkind.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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