
IdiomAnimals
Urdu
آستین کا سانپ (aasteen ka saanp)
Meaning: A treacherous false friend.
Literally: A snake in the sleeve
Example: “جس دوست پر بھروسا کیا، وہی آستین کا سانپ نکلا۔” — The friend I trusted turned out to be a snake in the grass.
English equivalent: A snake in the grass
Equivalents in other languages
Japanese: 腹が黒い (hara ga kuroi) Literally: The belly is black
Malay: Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi Literally: You trusted the fence, but the fence ate the riceEnglish: a snake in the grass
Origin: A snake hidden in one's own sleeve can strike at any moment. Āstīn kā sāṇp is a treacherous friend, someone close who betrays. English has "a snake in the grass" and "to nurse a viper in one's bosom." The phrase is shared with Hindi.
More Urdu idioms
- لوہے کے چنے چبانا (lohe ke chane chabana) To face an extremely hard, gruelling task.
- ناک کا بال (nāk kā bāl) Someone's closest, most trusted confidant.
- آنکھوں کا تارا (Aankhon ka tara) A dearly cherished person; the apple of one's eye.
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