ما يحَكّ للحَيّ لَذّ مِن يده

A Libyan proverb from dormirdebout.wordpress.com

ما يحَكّ للحَيّ لَذّ مِن يده

Literal meaning: Nothing can scratch your itch but your own hand.
 Meaning: No one will do your job or look after your interests. I think this is similar to the English proverb "God helps those who help themselves'.

من يقول للصيد فَمَّك ابخر

Another Libyan proverb from kato of http://dormirdebout.wordpress.com:

من يقول للصيد فَمَّك ابخر

(men yaqulu lilSaid famak abkharu)

Literal meaning:Who would tell the lion that his breath stinks?

Meaning: fear of retaliation, nobody wants to confront a tyrant. Kato adds "If this isn’t poignant in contemporary Libya, I don’t know what is"

If you can think of an English equivalent for this proverb, comment below. 

الزَمّار يموت و صُبْعه يرِفّ

A Libyan proverb from kato of http://dormirdebout.wordpress.com:


الزَمّار يموت و صُبْعه يرِفّ
(alzamaar yamutu wa Sab'ahu yirif)
Literal meaning: The flute player dies with his finger shaking.
Meaning:meaning strong habits stay with you your whole life, even until death, as in the English saying "old habits die hard."


Kato found this proverb in the book L’arabo parlato in Cyrenaica, by Elpido Ianotta. Read the details in his post here.

يبيعوا القرد وضحكوا عاللي شاريه

A Libyan proverb from www.libi.mobi


 يبيعوا القرد ويضحكوا عاللي شاريه
(yebi'u elqard wa yaDHaku 'ali sharihe)
Literal meaning: They sell the monkey and laugh at the buyer
Meaning: This is used in describing certain people who are known for deceiving others, a little like the American expression "selling a pig in a poke".