يعمل من الحبة قبة

Meaning: To blow something tiny completely out of proportion.

Language: Arabic

Literally: To build a dome out of a seed

Category: The Absurd

Origin: A rhyming Levantine and Egyptian image — habba (seed) swelling into qubba (dome), a grain becoming monumental architecture.

More idioms — The Absurd

• Helt texas — Utterly wild, chaotic or out of control.
• Det blæser en halv pelikan — It is extremely windy.
• Ei ole kaikki muumit laaksossa — Someone isn't quite all there.
• לאכול סרטים — To overthink and imagine dramatic worst-case scenarios.
• خر بیار و باقالی بار کن — Utter chaos; an endless, overwhelming mess.
• Da wird der Hund in der Pfanne verrückt — An exclamation of utter disbelief.

More Arabic idioms

• اللي على راسه بطحة بيحسس عليها — The guilty person gives himself away.
• الحبل على الكذب قصير — Lies never last; they are soon exposed.
• يد واحدة لا تصفق — Nothing is achieved without cooperation.
• الجمل ما يشوف عوجة رقبته — People are blind to their own faults.
• تمخض الجبل فولد فأرا — A huge fuss producing a tiny result.
• يضرب في حديد بارد — To waste effort on a hopeless task.

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