- English translation
You promised me earrings, so I went ahead and pierced my ears.
- Literal wording
You got my hopes up with earrings; I went and pierced my ears.
- Meaning and lesson
The picture is of a person who has their ears pierced simply because earrings were promised. The saying describes making ready for something before it is actually in hand, so that the preparation rests only on an expectation.
The hope here was raised by someone else's promise. The step taken in readiness is already done and cannot easily be undone, while the promised thing has not yet arrived. The saying points to acting too soon on another person's word.
- When it is used
Fits situations where someone has already made arrangements, spent effort, or committed resources in readiness for something another person promised, before actually receiving it.
- Register
- Colloquial, dialectal Arabic
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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