زى اللى رقص في السلالم لا اللى فوق شافوه و لا اللى تحت شافوه
Zayy elli raqas fi el salalem la elli foq shafouh wala elli taht shafouh
Translation: Like someone who danced in the stairwell, neither seen by those above nor those below.
Meaning: Similar to the English saying “falling between two stools”, the proverb means failing to find the right audience, and generally being too conflicted to have a sense of direction. It is one of the few long proverbs that is still in use, mainly because of its colorful imagery. But people often only use the first part “zayy elli raqas fi el salalem,” and let the audience guess the rest.
Source: Egyptian Proverbs, (Al-Ahram Center for Translation and Publishing, 1986) by Ahmed Taymour Pasha,
Translated by: Nabil Shawkat
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