- English translation
So, was it a winning throw or a wash?
- Literal wording
A ṭāb, or two one-eyed ones?
- Meaning and lesson
The image comes from ṭāb, a game played by casting four palm-rib sticks; ṭāb also names its winning throw, three face down and one face up. An even two-and-two split, nicknamed 'two one-eyed ones', brings neither win nor loss. Here ʿūr is game jargon for that split, not a remark about anyone's eyesight.
As a saying, it asks someone who has come back from an errand what the result was. Did the matter succeed, or did it end with nothing either gained or lost?
- When it is used
Say it to someone just back from an errand or task they were sent on, to ask whether the matter came out a success or ended with neither gain nor loss.
- Register
- Colloquial Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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