- English translation
When told to crow, the rooster replied that each thing is best when its hour arrives.
- Literal wording
They said to the rooster, "Crow!" He said, "Everything is good at its proper time."
- Meaning and lesson
The proverb answers a demand made at the wrong moment. Like the rooster, which crows at its own appointed hour, usually dawn, and not on command, a person may put off acting early because the action only fits when its time has come. The objection is to the timing, not the task.
Beyond the reply itself, the saying expresses a broader confidence in timing. Patience is treated as wisdom rather than reluctance, and acting too soon is seen as spoiling something that would be fine at its proper hour.
- When it is used
Use it when someone is pressed to act, speak, or deliver something before the right moment. It politely defers rather than refuses, and suits a calm reply to impatient urging.
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- Colloquial Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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