More cunning than a lizard أَخْدَعُ مِنْ ضَبٍّ.

أَخْدَعُ مِنْ ضَبٍّ.
التخدُّع: التواري، والمَخْدضع من هذا أخذ، وهو بيتٌ في جَوْف بيت يُتَوَارى فيه، وقالوا في الضب ذلك لتواريه وطول إقامته في جُحْره وقلة ظهوره.
وقال أبو على لكذه: خدع الضب إنما يكون من شدة حَذَره، وأما صفة خدعه فأن يعمد بذنبه باب جُحْره ليضربَ به حيةً أو شيئاً آخر إن جاءه، فيجيء المتحرشُ فإن كان الضب مجربا أخرج ذنبه إلى نصف الجحر، فإن دخل عليه شيء ضربه، وإلا بقي في جحره، فهذا هو خدعه، قال الشاعر:
وأخْدَعُ من ضَبٍّ إذا جاء حَارِشٌ ... أعَدَّ له عند الذنابة عَقْرَباَ
وذلك أن بيت الضب لا يخلو من عقرب، لما من الألفة والاستعانة بها على المحترش، هذا قول أهل اللغة.
وقال بعض أصحاب المعاني: العربُ تذكر الضبَّ والضبع والوحر والعقربَ في مجاري كلامها من طريق الاستعارة، فأما الضبُّ فإنهم يقولون: فلان خَبٌّ ضَبٌّ، فيشبهون الحقد الكامن في قلبه الذي يَسْرِي ضَرَرُه بخدع الضب في جحره، وأما الضبع فإنهم يجعلونها اسماً للسنة الشديدة، إذ كانت الضبعُ أفْسَدَ شيء من الدواب، فشبهوا بها السنة الشديدة التي تأكل المال، وأما الوحر فإنه دُوَيبة حمراء إذا جَثَمت تَلْزَق بالأرض فيقولون منه: وَحِرَ صَدْرُ فلانٍ، ذهبوا إلى التزاق الحقد بالصدر كالتزاق الوَحَرِ بالأرض وأما العقرب فإنهم يقولون: سَرَتْ عقاربُ فلانٍ، وفلان تَدِبُّ عقاربه، إذا خَفِيَ مكان شره.
قلت: والمثل أعني قولهم "أخدع من ضب" يضرب لمن تطلُبُ إليه شيئاً، وهو يَرُوغُ إلى غيره.
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More cunning than a lizard
. The word "takhda'u" (تخدّع) means to hide or conceal oneself. The word "makhda'a" (مخدّع) is derived from this root and refers to a chamber within a chamber where one hides. This term is applied to the lizard because of its tendency to hide, its long stay in its burrow, and its infrequent appearances.
Abu Ali said regarding this: The lizard's cunning stems from its extreme caution. Its method of deception involves extending its tail towards the entrance of its burrow to strike a snake or something else that might approach. If the aggressor comes, and the lizard is experienced, it will extend its tail halfway into the burrow. If something enters, it will strike; otherwise, it will remain in its burrow. This is its cunning. The poet said:
More cunning than a lizard when an aggressor comes... it prepares a scorpion for him at its tail.
This is because a lizard's burrow is never without a scorpion, due to its familiarity with the lizard and its use in attacking the aggressor. This is the opinion of the linguists. Some scholars of meaning said: The Arabs mention the lizard, the hyena, the hyena, and the scorpion in their speech metaphorically. As for the lizard, they say: So-and-so is a cunning lizard, likening the hidden malice in his heart, whose harm spreads, to the deceit of the lizard in its burrow. As for the hyena, they use it as a name for a severe year, since the hyena was the most destructive of animals, so they likened the severe year that consumes wealth to it. As for the hyena, it is a small red creature that, when it crouches, sticks to the ground, so they say: So-and-so's heart is filled with malice, meaning that malice sticks to the heart like a hyena sticks to the ground. As for the scorpion, they say: So-and-so's scorpions have crept in, and so-and-so's scorpions are creeping in, when the source of his evil is hidden. I said: The proverb, I mean their saying “more cunning than a lizard,” is used to describe someone from whom you ask for something, and he evades it to someone else.
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The closest English equivalent to the proverb "more cunning than a lizard," meaning someone who is evasive and elusive, dodging requests and concealing their intentions, is:
As sly as a fox.
Extremely cunning or evasive.
If the focus is on evasion and maneuvering rather than cunning, suitable expressions include:
He always keeps something up his sleeve.
To dodge the issue.
To be as slippery as an eel.
Veiled and difficult to hold or compel.
Considering the explanation at the end of the text: "It is said of someone who, when asked for something, evades the request," the closest semantic equivalent is:
He is as slippery as an eel.
(He is elusive and difficult to catch or get to do what is asked of him.)
But if the aim is to highlight hidden cunning and deceit, then "As sly as a fox" is the most famous.