- English translation
You can't tell what the goods are worth until they've been through pregnancy and nursing.
- Literal wording
The goods do not show themselves except after pregnancy and nursing.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying warns that the real quality of anything stays hidden until it has passed through the hardships that test it. Praise and criticism should both wait, because first impressions can mislead and only the outcome shows what something is truly worth.
Rooted in an old view, the image treats a woman's beauty as goods of uncertain value: pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing were believed to wear down her looks, so early charm was not to be trusted. Its Arabic rhyme pairs al-buḍāʿa (the goods) with ar-riḍāʿa (nursing), but judging a woman as merchandise by her looks is demeaning and sexist.
- When it is used
Use it to caution someone against rushing to praise or condemn a new person, purchase, or venture before time has tested it. It works as a wry warning against early enthusiasm, but applied literally to a woman's appearance it is demeaning.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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