To follow on last week’s theme, today we’re looking at two other proverbs with a similar meaning. As we will see below, both proverbs are used (with a subtle difference that we will learn about below) ironically to indicate that it’s too late for someone to do something.

From Pixabay

The first proverb is:

• دخول الحمام … مش زي خروجه  duxuul  il-Hammaam  miš  zayy  xruugu

(Entering a bathroom is not the same as leaving it)

*Hammam: a steam bath (spa), as it’s called in the Middle East.

Beyond the literal meaning of this proverb, it’s mainly used to comment on someone who is gets stuck or finds themselves in a tricky situation which they can’t get themselves out of. Some say that the original story behind this proverb goes back to old times when the owner of a Hammam invited people to enter his for free. However, and after people entered the hammam, he hid their clothes and asked his customers (on their way out) for money in return for their clothes. When he was asked about the reason, he replied with this proverb: دخول الحمام … مش زي خروجه

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The second proverb is:

• بعد ما شاب … ودوه الكتّاب baʕd  ma  šaab  wadduuh  il-kittaab

(After his hair went white, he went to school)

*Kittaab: The place (usually a mosque) where children are taught by a sheikh (Islamic scholar) as an alternative to school. In addition to Quran kids learn how to read and write in general.

Although the main situation that this proverb refers to is related to education, i.e when someone starts learning something at a late age, it can also be applied to other situations in life. For example, it can be used to make fun of someone who tries to fix something after it’s too late to do so. Another use is to make fun of someone old who doesn’t act his age.

This proverb can also be expressed differently and different Arabic countries have different versions of it. The only difference is in the verb (went), which varies from one place to another, as these examples below show:

بعد ما شاب خش الكتّاب   xašš

بعد ما شاب راح الكتّاب   raah

بعد ما شاب دخل الكتّاب  daxal

Based on what we’ve discussed so far, we can see how both proverbs refer to very similar meanings. Both can be used to imply that it’s either too late to do something about a situation (in relation to time) or it’s too late for somebody to do something or start doing something (in relation to their age).