عامل لمونه فى بلد قرفان
Amel lamouna fi balad arfan
Translation: He thinks he is like a lemon in a town that is nauseated.
Meaning: Lemon was believed to be a cure for nausea, and therefore a town suffering from nausea would be desperate for a supply of lemon. So if you happen to have a particular skill that is in short supply, everyone will welcome you – with the same desperation a nauseated town would welcome a batch of lemon.
Source: Egyptian Proverbs, (Al-Ahram Center for Translation and Publishing, 1986) by Ahmed Taymour Pasha,
Translated by: Nabil Shawkat
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