Egyptians are not the masters of their own language. But we do possess the magical ability to make up ridiculous phrases and hand it down from one generation to the next, therefore, immortalizing it. We echo a lot of famous Egyptian sayings without really knowing their source. Yeah, sure, some of them may be based on actual stories while others are fabricated. But, they have become a cultural heritage that does not differentiate between rich and poor and connects us all together. Here are the intriguing stories behind 5 of them: 

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This expression goes back to the story of a woman who wanted to make sure that her daughter’s intending marriage is not doomed and took her to see a fortune-teller. It is said that the seer put gallstones and sand inside a pot and turned them upside down. One small gallstone and one big gallstone came out of the pot which made the seer tell the woman that her daughter is going to be just like her. She then added the now famous saying, “اقلب القدرة على فمها تطلع البنت لأمها”. 

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It is said that the famous Roman God “Jupiter” once arranged a beauty competition between animals. The contestants who included the peacock and his son, the giraffe and her young as well as the lion and his cub, flaunted themselves in front of him one after the other. But before he decided on the winner, a monkey paraded her son in front of him. The story then follows that everyone in the audience (not really sure if that’s Jupiter’s fellows or the other contestants) tried to persuade the monkey to withdraw from the competition. But the monkey refused, insisting that her son is worthy of the most beautiful animal title. Jupiter then said with a laugh “صحيح.. القرد فى عين أمه غزال”

(your skepticism is palpable!)

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This might be one of the few sayings which people know its background story. But here it is anyway for those who don’t.

A fire is said to have erupted in one of the old turkish baths who used to rely on firewood, timber and sawdust to heat the bathroom’s floor and water so that vapour would pass through the cracks. The women who were dressed escaped while those who weren’t remained shy and preferred death over escaping without their clothes. The saying however was uttered by the doorman who was telling the owner about the news.

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Once upon a time, a man decided to operate a Turkish bathroom and announced that the entry would be for free. Naturally, people went in blindly. Little did they know that upon leaving, the owner would refuse to give them back their clothes, unless they pay him a fee. They rationally detested and argued that he claimed it was for free to which he replied with “دخول الحمّام مش زي خروجه”.

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In a small village, there was a man who lived alone and raised chicken. But, every once in awhile, someone would steal a chicken or two. The story goes that the man went to Sheikh El Balad so that he would help him catch the thief. The next day El Sheikh gathered the villagers and began a sermon about honesty. He told the story of the man and his chickens. Then, ended the sermon by telling them to imagine the audacity of the thief for neglecting to clean the chicken feathers stuck on his head. The thief then automatically touched his head to remove the feathers!

You can either think of them as cool stories or true stories! The choice is up to you.