- English translation
Planted by the yard oven, I do nothing but run my mouth.
- Literal wording
Sitting by the outdoor oven, and I strike away with my tongue.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying pictures someone seated beside al-barrani, here the oven built in a house's open yard rather than a person, where bread would normally be prepared. They do nothing there but 'strike with the tongue', meaning talk a great deal, not strike anyone. The oven marks a place of labor, occupied with words alone.
It is said of a person who talks at great length but does not act. The contrast between abundant speech and absent work is the point, so it serves as a rebuke to anyone whose output is only talk.
- When it is used
Apply it to someone whose share of a task consists only of talk, to point out that their words are plentiful while their actual effort is missing. It fits moments when a person keeps speaking yet contributes nothing practical.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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