- English translation
Onions for a khamsa coin, or a khamsa coin for onions: it comes to the same thing.
- Literal wording
For a khamsa coin, onions; onions for a khamsa coin.
- Meaning and lesson
The proverb says that reversing the order of two terms does not alter what they amount to. The contrast is only verbal: both formulations lead to the same practical conclusion.
Its imagery refers to the khamsa, a former Egyptian copper coin. It expresses that two ways of stating or arranging a matter yield the same result, despite an attempted distinction.
- When it is used
Use it when someone presents a reordered wording or alternative as though it changes the issue, but the outcome is unchanged. Its force lies in the reversal of the terms, so a literal English rendering may sound abrupt without that context.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Onions for a khamsa coin, or a khamsa coin for onions: it comes to the same thing.