- English translation
When the flaw is right on your face, there is nowhere to hide it.
- Literal wording
His fault is on his face; from where would he tuck it away?
- Meaning and lesson
The saying pictures a flaw on the face, the one part of a person always on display. The verb here means to tuck away or conceal, not to push or shove. Since a face cannot be covered, a blemish there has no hiding place, so the image stands for any shortcoming that cannot be kept out of sight.
In use, the proverb points to a defect or failing that is openly evident to everyone, implying that attempts at concealment cannot succeed. Its close is a near-rhyme pairing a shin sound with a sin sound.
- When it is used
Say it about a fault or defect so plainly visible that any attempt to conceal it is pointless. It fits remarks on someone trying to cover up what everyone can already see.
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- Colloquial Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: When the flaw is right on your face, there is nowhere to hide it.