- English translation
You who snatch away another woman's husband, what a joke you've made of yourself!
- Literal wording
O you who take the woman's husband, O laughingstock!
- Meaning and lesson
The saying scorns a woman who lures a married man into taking her as a second wife. Rather than gaining honor, she becomes an object of mockery among other women. It assumes a setting where a man may take a second wife, and it blames the woman rather than the man.
Behind the jeer lies a practical judgment: plenty of unmarried, unattached men were available, so pursuing a husband who already had a wife was needless and shameful. The Arabic pairs al-mara with maskhara in a sharp closing rhyme.
- When it is used
Recorded as a women's saying used to deride a woman who has drawn a married man into marrying her. It is a harsh, shaming jab aimed at a specific woman, suited to gossip or open reproach, not polite conversation.
- Community
- Women's sayings
- Register
- Colloquial; mocking reproach
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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