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> And what is the technical term in Arabic they used that translates to "slippery slope?" Does Arabic really have no phrase like "house of cards", "fell like d
by vacri 10y ago
> And what is the technical term in Arabic they used that translates to "slippery slope?"
Does Arabic really have no phrase like "house of cards", "fell like dominoes" or "give them an inch and they'll take a mile"?
- mulmen 10y agoGreat question. I know very little to nothing about Arabic but I would love a more detailed explanation than "It's an Arabic thing, you wouldn't understand".
- Lanthanide 10y agoThere isn't a specific idiom that I'm aware of, I'm pretty sure the Economist were just summing up a perceived sentiment with the 'slippery-slope' comment. In Arabic, that sentiment would most likely be expressed in the form of saying that it's laying the groundwork for further cultural drift or something similar, without a particular idiomatic shorthand. Thing is, even though there's probably phrases like that in regional dialects, they wouldn't be quoted since the majority of Arabic media (and therefore anyone preparing to be quoted by a media outlet) is mostly in Modern Standard Arabic.
- Kluny 10y ago> "give them an inch and they'll take a mile" "Camel's nose in the tent" Though I don't know if that's actual an Arabism or if I just heard it in some Western film.