10 Crazy Things Every Lebanese Child Has Heard From Their Parents

This article was translated from an Arabic original

Throwback to the good old naïve days when we believed everything our parents told us and all the crazy things they said, here are a few to remember.

1. Khabaretna el 3asfoura

And we’ve been wondering who the 3asfoura is ever since…

2. Ma 7a tetwalo iza ma bteshrabo 7alib

This is where our fear of remaining short stemmed from.

3. Abou kees w emm r3aydeh

A nightmare!

4. Iza betkazeb byetwal menkharak

We’d run to check our noses in the mirror every time we lied.

5. Baba noel byenzal bellel men l chemine nehna w neymin

But in our head he was always a large man so how did he fit through our chemine?

6. Bteje l souseh btekol snenkon

To shut down our sugar cravings…

7. Iza ma bet3azbo ra7 nekhedkon meshwar

Only for us to end up at our neighbors’ or grandparents’ houses.

8. Ma teshrabo ahwe byetla3elkon shwerib

the infamous statement that tried to keep us away from caffeine

9. Khabbo snenkon ta7et l mkhadde la yetla3elkon cadeau

And the disappointment when we wake up to nothing under our pillow

10. El 3elke btelzo2 bi batenkon

Does it, does it really?