It is but the fox's tail.............. إنما هو ذنب الثعلب

 Hunters say: The fox's cunning lies in its tail; it sways it, and the dogs follow. It is said: More cunning than a fox's tail. This is said of a man who is very cunning.

If you act like a cat, you are about to fall into its trap. "Attacking" is derived from "arrada," meaning activity, and "afrah" means intensity. This is said of someone who is energetic but oblivious to the consequences.

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Some of the closest English equivalents are:

As sly as a fox.

A slippery customer.

A cunning person who is difficult to catch or trust.

To lead someone on a wild goose chase.

To mislead and exhaust people with a false claim.

He's always dodging and weaving.

To throw someone off the scent.

This is very close to the image of the proverb; that is,

He misleads those pursuing him and diverts them from the real trail.

A closer interpretive translation of the proverb is:

He distracts others with tricks and evasions like a fox using its tail to mislead the hounds.

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أصحاب الصيد يقولون: رواغ الثعلب بذنبه يميله فتتبع الكلاب ذنبه. يقال: أروغ من ذنب الثعلب. يضرب، للرجل الكثير الروغان.

إذا اعترضت كاعتراض الهرة

أوشكت أن تسقط في أفـره

اعترض: افتعل من العرض وهو النشاط، والأفرة: الشدة. يضرب، للنشيط يغفل عن العاقبة.

If you are a lizard, then I am its slayer........إن تك ضباً فإني حسله

 This proverb is used when a man encounters someone of equal knowledge and cunning.

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 Some of the closest English equivalents are:

It takes one to know one.

This is the closest and most common; meaning:

"Only someone like him can understand this type of person."

You can't fool me—I know your tricks.

Meaning: "You can't fool me; I know your tricks."

Diamond cuts diamond.

An old proverb meaning:

"Only a cunning person can counter another cunning person."

Set a thief to catch a thief.

Meaning: "Only a thief can catch a thief," sometimes used for someone who knows the methods of their peers.

A closer interpretive translation of the proverb is:

"If you are cunning, I am just as cunning as you are."

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يضرب، في أن يلقى الرجل مثله في العلم والدهاء.

He took it like a lizard takes its young - أخذه أخذ الضب ولده

  That is, he took it with a severe grip, intending to destroy it. This is because the lizard guards its eggs from vermin, and when its young hatch from the eggs, it mistakes them for some of the snakes of the earth, so it takes its young, one after another, and kills it, and only the fugitive escapes from it.

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Some of the closest English equivalents are:

To come down on someone like a ton of bricks.

Meaning: To pounce on them with extreme violence.

To tear someone apart.

Meaning: To kill or attack them cruelly.

To show no mercy.

Meaning: To show no mercy.

To destroy someone mercilessly.

And if the meaning of harm inflicted on a relative or someone undeserving is intended:

Like a beast turning on its own young.

And the closest explanatory translation of the proverb is:

He attacked him with ruthless and destructive force.

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أي أخذه أخذة شديدة أراد بها هلكته، وذلك أن الضب يحرس بيضه عن الهوام فإذا خرجت أولاده من البيض ظنها بعض أحناش الأرض فجعل يأخذ ولده، واحداً بعد واحد ويقتله فلا ينجو منه إلا الشريد.

 

It is a viper, a real snake.......إنه لصل أصلال

  A viper is one that kills instantly if it bites. It is used to describe someone cunning. The poet said:

What a calamity we have suffered from a male snake, a viper that kills instantly if it bites..

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Some of the closest English equivalents are:

A snake in the grass.

Meaning: "A snake in the grass." This is said of someone who is cunning and secretive.

As sly as a serpent.

Meaning: "As cunning as a snake."

A deadly operator.

Meaning: "A very dangerous and cunning person."

He's venomous.

This is used to emphasize malice and wickedness.

To indicate cunning mixed with danger:

A dangerous cunning man.

A more accurate translation of the proverb is:

He is a deadly and cunning man, like a venomous serpent.

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الصل: حية تقتل لساعتها إذا نهشت. يضرب، للداهي. قال الشاعر:

ماذا رزئنا به من حية ذكـر

نضناضة بالمنايا صل أصلا

 

If you grab a lizard by its tail, you anger it............إذا أخذت بذنبه الضب أغضبته

 If you grab a lizard by its tail, you anger it.

It is also said, "by the head of the lizard," and "the tail" is singular, though some say "the tail" is not used. This proverb is used to describe someone who forces another to do something they dislike.

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 One of the closest English equivalents is:

Don't poke the bear.

Meaning: "Don't provoke someone who might harm you if they get angry."

This is the closest in spirit and image to the Arabic proverb.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

Meaning: "Leave things as they are and don't stir them up," if the intention is to avoid creating problems.

Cornered animals fight back.

Meaning: "An animal cornered will fight back," used for someone who is driven to a violent reaction when cornered.

To rub someone the wrong way.

Meaning: "To act in a way that angers or provokes someone."

A closer interpretive translation of the proverb is:

If you push someone into a corner, don't be surprised when they get angry.

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 ويروى، برأس الضب، والذنبة الدنب واحد وقيل: الذنبة غير مستعملة. يضرب، لمن يلجئ غيره إلى ما يكره.