- English translation
The whole thing, from the first knock on the door to the parting goodbye.
- Literal wording
From 'knock-knock' to 'peace be upon you'
- Meaning and lesson
The saying measures a stretch of time by a visit. It begins when a caller raps on the door and ends when the guest says the customary words of peace on leaving; here that phrase is the parting farewell, not the arrival greeting. Everything in between falls inside the phrase, so it stands for an event taken whole.
In practice, speakers use it to claim completeness. A person who learned a matter this way grasped all of it, and a person who recounted a matter this way concealed nothing. The image presents the account as an unbroken sequence with no gaps, omissions, or skipped parts between the first sound and the final farewell.
- When it is used
Use it to stress that someone knows or has been told an affair in full, with every stage from opening to close and nothing held back. Typical frames: someone 'knows it' or 'was told it' from knock-knock to the parting peace be upon you.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: The whole thing, from the first knock on the door to the parting goodbye.