لا تلف وتدور

 

This phrase is the English equivalent of “Don’t beat around the bush”, meaning to tell someone to stop saying things in an indirect manner.

 

Here are some examples:

يا زلمة ما تلف وتدور عليّ. انا بعرف بالضبط (بالزبط) شو عم بيصير

Dude, don’t beat around the bush. I know exactly what is happening

انت ليش عم تلف وتدور؟ مخبي عنّي شي؟

Why are you beating around the bush? Are you hiding something from me?

 

احكي من الآخر

 

So this phrase and the next two phrases below have the same meaning. They mean to tell someone to stop being so long-winded and get straight to the point.

These phrases are the equivalent of “get straight to the point” or ” cut to the chase”.

The literal meaning of this phrase is “Speak from the end”.

Here are some examples:

ناصر! اتطلّع عليّ واحكي من الآخر. شو بدك مني؟

Naser! Look at me and get straight to the point. What do you want from me?

بعرف إنك مشغولة ومستعجلة كتير ف رح أحكي من الآخر

I know you’re busy and in a hurry, so I will cut to the chase

 

اعطيني من الآخر

 

This phrase has the same meaning as the above. Instead of using the verb “to speak”, this phrase uses the verb “to give”.

So the literal meaning of this phrase is “give me from the end”.

Note that in Syrian Arabic, most of the command (imperative) form of Verb Form 1 omits the alef. So in the case, Syrians spell and pronounce اعطيني as عطيني. I can never tell apart the difference in pronunciation so…

Here are some examples:

يا ولد حاج تلف وتدور وعطيني من الآخر. مين اللي كسر الشباك؟

Hey kid, stop beating around the bush and get straight to the point. Who’s the one who broke the window?

منشان الله يا اخي, عطيني من الآخر وخلصنا

For God’s sake bro, just get to the point and be done with it

 

In addition, you can use this phrase to ask shopkeepers (or whoever) to give you the best (lowest) price possible.

For example,

والله السعر كتير غالي يا معلم. عطيني من الآخر الله يخليك

*يا معلم in this example refers to the owner of the shop or the person-in-charge

I swear the price is very expensive. Please give me the lowest price possible (for this item)

Now you know what to say when shopping for souvenirs in the Levant… 🙂

 

هات من الآخر

 

The literal meaning of this phrase is “give from the end”. It has the same meaning as the above two phrases – to get straight to the point, to be concise and direct.

Here are some examples:

هات من الآخر بدك تساعدني ولا لأ حتى اعرف ادبّر الموضوع

Just tell me directly, do you want to help me or not? So I know how to sort the matter out

هاتي من الآخر وين كنتي اليوم؟

Tell me quickly, where were you today?

~~~

That’s it for now!

I hope you’ve learned something new. Do hit the share buttons and spread the knowledge!

Take care and I’ll see you in the hosh,

Lyn



You'll Also Like: