- English translation
Right in the middle of the crush, they choose to circumcise the blind man with the swollen hernia.
- Literal wording
At the time of the crowding, they circumcise the blind man with the hernia.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying mocks a mistake of timing. Just when a place is packed and everyone is pressed, an unnamed 'they' decide to circumcise a blind man with a hernia, the most awkward and painstaking job imaginable, hard enough even in calm conditions. The verb means circumcision here, not ritual purification.
More generally, it condemns misplaced effort: doing a thing when it does not belong, or where it does not fit, so the work becomes needlessly difficult and adds to the confusion around it.
- When it is used
Use it to criticize someone who picks the busiest moment to take on a slow, delicate, or troublesome job, or who acts out of season or place. Its image of circumcising a blind man with a hernia can seem crude or insensitive about disability, so use it cautiously.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Right in the middle of the crush, they choose to circumcise the blind man with the swollen hernia.