«تُرُوحْ فِينْ يَا زَعْلُوكْ بِينِ الْمُلُوكْ؟»

The saying rebukes someone seen as overstepping their social station or competing with people regarded as above them. It presents the attempt as an ill-matched intrusion into a higher-status circle, especially in pursuit of rank, influence, or privilege.

Its force is sharp and dismissive, not encouraging: it treats such rivalry as foolish because of limits imposed by one’s circumstances. The traditional wording labels the person as poor and shabbily dressed, a class-coded characterization that can demean people and should not be read as endorsing that stereotype.

Used as a mocking retort to someone perceived as overreaching or challenging social superiors. The personal-looking term Za‘lūk is a label for a poor, shabbily dressed person, not necessarily an individual’s name; its status hierarchy and disparagement of poverty can make the expression insulting or class-conscious.