عصفور فى اليد ولا عشرة على الشجرة
Asfour fi el-yadd wala asharah ala el-shagarah
Translation: One bird in hand is better than ten birds on the tree.
Meaning: Play it safe and stick with what you know would work. Usually people use the first half of the proverb, leaving the second for the audience to guess. This saying that is still in use.
Source: Egyptian Proverbs, (Al-Ahram Center for Translation and Publishing, 1986) by Ahmed Taymour Pasha,
Translated by: Nabil Shawkat
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