أكل الشعير ولا بر العويل
Akl el she’ir wala birr al-awil
Translation: Better eat barley than rely on the charity of a condescending provider.
Meaning: This proverb is one of a genre of proverbs that advise self-reliance, however dire one’s circumstances are. It is outdated, however, perhaps because of its use of obscure language, especially in the reference to awil, or condescending provider. Despite the staid language, it has a poetic quality, enhanced by the mirror sounding of “r” and “l” consonants in the two halves of the rhymed saying. It has a vaguely Bedouin, but archaic, feel. Try it on your friends and watch for their double take.
Source: Egyptian Proverbs, (Al-Ahram Center for Translation and Publishing, 1986) by Ahmed Taymour Pasha,
Translated by: Nabil Shawkat
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