When one shows lack of grace, they quote, “The bear stood up to dance and killed seven or eight persons.”
An ignorant or dull person is accused of not knowing his elbow from his wrist.
A rather cynical and unsentimental way of describing the effect on a man of the loss of his wife is that, “It is like knocking his funny-bone.”
Of course rain would never be expected in July. Such a thing would be called zelket fyt tammûz, “a slip in July,” and this expression is used proverbially to describe any prodigy or any very surprising occurrence.
That good actions may be spoiled is expressed by the statement, “If a cow yields a large quantity and then kicks over the milk-pan she is not praised.”
An obstinate person is described by râs-hu yâbis or râs-hu ḳawy, “His head is dry or hard.”
Gift-taking, that is, bribery,[[189]] is described as a sickness to which all officials are proverbially subject. Such a man is described by Butnhu wâsi‛a, byokul kathîr,[[190]] “He has an expansive stomach, he eats a great deal.”[[191]] Of an official whose power is limited they say, “His arm is short.”[[192]] Orders from headquarters in Constantinople not carried out by an under-official are said to have been “put under the carpet.”
“When the salt blossoms” denotes improbabilities, for which the following is also heard, though I should not want to vouch for its absolute impossibility, “When the goat climbs to the top of the minaret.” I have seen goats in very unlikely places.
The following list of proverbs gives a sample of expressions in common use among the peasantry of central Palestine.
Abu Ḥashîsh fy ḥâlat ghalbân: “Abu Ḥashîsh is overcome of his own matters.” This is used when a man already crowded with duties is asked to do something more.