- English translation
Tell the murderer to take an oath, and he cries: "Here comes your rescue, hernia-sufferer!"
- Literal wording
Make the killer swear; he said: "Relief has come to you, O qalīṭ (man with a hernia)!"
- Meaning and lesson
The saying mocks the habit of clearing a suspect by having him swear. Someone who has already dared to take a life will hardly balk at a false oath, so the demand proves nothing. It ridicules the oath as a test, without implying that everyone asked to swear is guilty.
The killer greets the oath with delight, hailing his rescue as though an afflicted man were suddenly cured. Qalīṭ, a blunt and mocking word for a man with a hernia, here stands for anyone burdened by an affliction he longs to shed. The accusation is that burden, and a few false words remove it.
- When it is used
Use it with irony when a person suspected of grave wrongdoing escapes simply by vowing innocence, or when any safeguard relies on the word of someone with every motive to lie. Its crude imagery may not suit every audience.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Tell the murderer to take an oath, and he cries: "Here comes your rescue, hernia-sufferer!"