- English translation
You who keep yourself so modestly out of sight, your shrieking has split my eardrums!
- Literal wording
O you who are hiding yourself away, your voice has pierced my two ears.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying mocks someone who keeps up a careful show of modesty and reserve, then gives the whole act away through noisy, attention-grabbing behavior. Its feminine address and veiling imagery picture a secluded woman whose voice is loud enough to hurt the listener's ears.
More broadly, it exposes anyone, of any gender, whose actions undo the image they work to project. It points out the gap between a claimed virtue and the conduct that openly contradicts it, so the pretense collapses under its own evidence.
- When it is used
Use it as a teasing or sharp rebuke when someone advertises restraint, discretion, or modesty and then behaves loudly or in a way that plainly contradicts that image. Aim it at the pretense, not at women's modesty, which can sound like gendered mockery.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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