رايحه فين يا هايلة رايحة اعدل المايلة 

 

Rayha fein ya hayla, rayha a’del el mayla

 

Translation: Where are you going, wonderful big woman?

I am going to fix the skinny woman.

 

Meaning: This proverb, now dated, is about how much fat women should have. Thin women may look ungainly, or “mayla” or a bit “tilted” or “listing.” But a woman with a bit of meat on her will look more proportionate, or “hayla,” literally massive or wonderful. The nearest western saying that approximates this is something that goes thus, “you can either look old or fat,” an admission that fat can hide a wrinkle or two. 

 

Source: Egyptian Proverbs, (Al-Ahram Center for Translation and Publishing, 1986) by Ahmed Taymour Pasha,

Translated by: Nabil Shawkat