IdiomDaily Life
Arabic
Arabicرمى بنفسه في التهلكة (ramā bi-nafsihi fī at-tahluka)
Meaning: Someone deliberately puts themselves in danger or a hopeless situation through recklessness.
Literally: He threw himself into destruction/ruin.
Example: “قاد السيارة في العاصفة الرملية ورمى بنفسه في التهلكة.” — He drove into the sandstorm and was playing with fire.
English equivalent: To play with fire
Equivalents in other languages
Portuguese: brincar com fogo Literally: To play with fire
English: play with fire
Origin: From the Quran, sura 2 (al-Baqara), verse 195: wa-lā tulqū bi-aydīkum ilā at-tahluka, "and do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction." The verse, about spending in God's cause, made at-tahluka (ruin, perdition) the standard word for reckless self-endangerment, and the phrase is now used of anyone who rushes into danger.
More Arabic idioms
- أكل العيش والملح مع شخص (Akal al-'aysh wal-milh ma'a shakhs) Shared intimate bond or deep friendship forged through shared hardship and simple living…
- حط في بطنك بطيخة صيفي (ḥuṭṭ fī baṭnak baṭīkha ṣayfī) Relax completely; do not worry about a thing.
- يعمل من الحبة قبة (Ya'mal min al-ḥabba qubba) To blow something tiny completely out of proportion.
- الجمل ما يشوف عوجة رقبته (Al-jamal mā yshūf 'awjat raqabatuh) People are blind to their own faults.
- تمخض الجبل فولد فأرا (tamakhaḍa al-jabalu fa-walada fa'ran) A huge fuss producing a tiny result.
- يضرب في حديد بارد (yadrib fi hadid barid) To waste effort on a hopeless task.
Explore another collection: False Friends
Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
- Sensible Actually means 'sensitive'. For sensible/level-headed, say raisonnable.
- Librairie Actually means 'bookshop'. A library is une bibliothèque.
- Constipado Actually means 'having a head cold'. Estoy constipado = I have a cold.
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