«خَدُوا جُوزِ الْخَرْسَهْ اتْكَلِّمِتْ»

Traditionally applied to wives' jealousy, the proverb uses an impossible image to show how fierce that jealousy can be. A mute woman finds her voice the moment her husband is taken from her. Here جوز means 'husband', not 'walnut' or 'pair'. The premise reflects a gendered stereotype, not a truth about women.

In broader terms, the line suggests that losing something you hold dear can provoke a reaction nobody expected. Someone normally silent or passive may suddenly protest when a deeply personal attachment is threatened. The miracle of speech is deliberate hyperbole, not a literal claim about people who cannot speak.

Used humorously or pointedly when someone usually quiet suddenly protests loudly because a spouse seems threatened by a rival. Its gendered premise and its use of muteness as a joke may seem dismissive or offensive today, so it is best kept to informal, familiar company.