- English translation
Placate the shameless woman; you can safely cross the honorable one.
- Literal wording
The brazen woman, coddle her; and the free-born woman, be at odds with her.
- Meaning and lesson
This traditional saying gives practical advice about conflict. A woman branded shameless, a harsh moral insult rather than a mild charge of rudeness, should be humored and handled gently, as one soothes a fretful child, because provoking her invites crude retaliation. Appeasing such a person is self-protection, not respect.
By contrast, a woman of dignity and self-respect can be opposed without much fear; this is not advice to pick fights with her. Her character keeps her from vulgar revenge, so disagreement is safe. The saying rests on gendered moral categories it does not justify; its broader point is that the ill-mannered are dangerous to anger.
- When it is used
Fits talk about whom to handle with care: a listener recommends placating a shameless person rather than confronting them, while noting a principled person can be opposed safely. Its harshly insulting, gendered vocabulary makes it unsuitable for polite or neutral settings; cite it as a traditional saying, not an endorsement.
- Register
- Colloquial Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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