IdiomFood & Drink
Persian
Persianنمکگیر شدن (namakgir shodan)
Meaning: To feel bound by gratitude after sharing someone's food or hospitality.
Literally: To become salt-caught
Example: “بعد از آن همه مهمانی، دیگر نمکگیرشان شدهام.” — After all those dinners at their house, I feel bound to them by their hospitality.
Equivalents in other languages
Arabic: أكل العيش والملح مع شخص (Akal al-'aysh wal-milh ma'a shakhs) Literally: Ate bread and salt with someone.
Origin: Namak is salt. In Persian, as in much of the Middle East, sharing someone's bread and salt creates a bond of loyalty, and betraying a host is namak be harām, being false to the salt. To become salt-caught is to feel bound by gratitude after accepting someone's hospitality.
More Persian idioms
- خر بیار و باقالی بار کن (khar biyār o bāqālī bār kon) Utter chaos; an endless, overwhelming mess.
- نوشدارو بعد از مرگ سهراب (Nushdaroo ba'd az marg-e Sohraab) A solution that arrives uselessly too late.
- آب از سرش گذشته (âb az sarash gozashte) It is already too late to save the situation.
- گربه را دم حجله کشتن (gorbe rā dam-e hejle koshtan) To assert authority firmly from the very start.
- مرغ همسایه غاز است (morgh-e hamsāye ghāz ast) The grass is always greener next door.
- از این ستون به آن ستون فرج است (az in sotun be ān sotun faraj ast) Even a small change may bring hope.
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