14 Food-Related Persian Idioms and Proverbs

You might have heard the joke about the Iranian who writes a letter to his boss in English. It goes something like this: “Dear Mr. Hamilton, I am your servant very, very much. I am writing to you because all the way to the handle of the knife has reached my bone. My hands grab your skirt. Please reach my scream…”. And on and on it goes (you can read the full letter here if you’re interested- it’s pretty funny). These idioms which are so normal in Persian sound absolutely absurd when translated literally into English. But Persian loves its idioms, and to claim any sort of fluency in the language, you need to have a strong grasp of them. Iranians show you affection by saying they want to eat your liver and tell you to get lost by losing your grave. Nosy people are a pea in every soup, and a criminal doesn’t go to prison but goes to drink cool water. People who are proud have fallen off an elephant’s trunk and those who are ecstatic melt sugar cubes in their hearts. Virtually any topic you can think of has a number of sayings to go with it. So today’s topic is none other than food-related Persian idioms and proverbs. You might remember a few from before- a couple related to fruit and one related to cumin, a souvenir from Kerman. But here are 14 more, including the interesting history behind a few of them.

14 Food-Related Persian Idioms and Proverbs

Az sir tâ piâz

Literally: From garlic to onion

Meaning: From A to Z

Piâz dâgh râ ziâd kardan

Literally: To add more sautéed onions

Meaning: To exaggerate

The first step of any Iranian recipe calls for piâz dâgh (sauteed onions). You fry them up and add a little turmeric and black pepper before going to the next step. In fact, any time I ask someone for a recipe, I always ask for them to start after the piâz dâgh process because that part is just a given. That’s why I think this idiom is particularly fitting- when you exaggerate, you just add extra sauteed onions.

Bâdemjun dor-e ghâbchin

Literally: Eggplants around the dish

Meaning: A phrase used to describe sycophants

In the past during the Qajar era, those politicians who worked closely with the king were referred to as bâdemjun dor-e ghâbchin. They might have had high positions, but they were each more concerned with minor details they could use to suck up to the king and edge out the others (instead of actually doing their job). As an example, they might have gone into the kitchen with the cooks and made sure the eggplants were properly placed around the dish (as they are sometimes placed in stews) and then reported it to the king so he’d think they were really looking out for him and therefore become the favorite.

Bu-ye halvâsh miyâd.

Literally: You can smell their halva.

Meaning: They have one foot in the grave.

Halvâ is a labor-intensive sweet dessert made by toasting flour in oil or butter and adding sugar, saffron, and rosewater. It’s somehow associated with death since it’s made and served at funerals and on anniversaries of someone’s death. I personally file this idiom under the “so funny but so wrong” category. (And my apologies for the image below, but I couldn’t find a picture of halva to use.)

Mesl-e sibi ke az vasat nesf shode 

Literally: Like an apple cut in half

Meaning: Like two peas in a pod

Ghureh nashode maviz shode.

Literally: Hardly a sour grape, he’s become [acts like] a raisin.

Meaning: Said of a person who tries to show they know more than they do or are more skilled than they are

Ghureh (or ghooreh) are the unripe, sour grapes that are used in various Iranian dishes like khoresht-e kadu (zucchini stew). Another common use it to crush them and make verjuice to use as dressing for salad shirazi. My grandmother even used to make ghureh-ghureh. Her version consisted of putting sour grapes (ghureh) in verjuice (âb ghureh). Summers are when ghureh make their way to the market. I fondly remember this as a time when my grandmother would come home with a ridiculously large quantity. She’d toss them on the chador she’d spread out on the floor which signaled ghureh-picking time! I’d join my mom, grandmother, and aunts and pick the ghureh one by one off the stems while listening to the latest family gossip.

But back to this expression. Ghureh are sour, and maviz are sweet. A ghureh needs to become a grape before it can become a maviz. So imagine a kid who barely knows the alphabet yet claims he can read the poetry of Sa’adi. Or a first-year med student who claims he can perform open-heart surgery. Ghureh nashode maviz shode. 

Nunesh tu-ye roghan-e. 

Literally: His bread is in oil.

Meaning: Said about a person who’s doing financially well.

In the past, the average Iranian ate dry bread, and only the wealthy could afford to eat bread dipped in oil. That’s why we have this expression to describe someone who is doing well or who has come across an opportunity that will allow them to make it and be successful.

I’ve seen this one translated as “His bread is buttered on both sides,” but I would argue that it’s a little different. The English means to profit from two [contradictory] things simultaneously while the Persian simply means that a person is doing financially well.

Âbi az oo garm nemishe.

Literally: He can’t heat any water.

Meaning: Don’t count on him.

Man na sar-e piâzam na tah-e piâz.

Literally: I’m neither the top of the onion nor the bottom.

Meaning: It has nothing to do with me./It doesn’t concern me at all./I’m a nobody in this affair.

I hear this one all the time, and I think it’s funny. Why an onion? Why not the top? Why not the bottom? I have so many questions! And the answers lie in the anatomy of the onion. The top green part is the spring onions (piâzche) which people eat. The bottom part is the onion itself, which people also eat. So both of those parts are important. When you’re neither one of those parts, you’re unimportant. Get it? You’re neither the top nor the bottom of the onion.

Murche chi-ye ke kaleh pâchash bâsheh?

Literally: What’s an ant to have its kaleh pâcheh (head and hoof stew)?

Meaning: Said when someone wants a part of something that is already so small and worthless

So say you have some money, and a friend tells you to put it in the bank so it can gain interest. The amount of money is meager, and the interest rate is practically nothing. So what could you possibly gain from an already small amount? Murche chi-ye ke kaleh pâchash bâsheh?

Kalash bu-ye ghormeh sabzi mide.

Literally: His head smells like ghormeh sabzi.

Meaning: He’s looking for trouble.

This phrase is said about someone who defames a higher power or the state and whose actions are punishable. I remember the first time one of my aunts used this. My jaw dropped. Um, come again? His head? Smells like ghormeh sabzi? What in the…?

So this one is pretty gruesome. (You’ve been warned.)

In the past, ruthless leaders might have ordered prisoners who were active against the state to not just be killed but also diced and cooked- possibly in stews like ghormeh sabzi. So for a person who’s just asking for it, looking for trouble, and perhaps digging his own grave, we use this phrase. (I hope I haven’t ruined ghormeh sabzi for you.) 

Ham khodâ-ro mikhâd ham khormâ-ro

Literally: He wants both God and the dates.

Meaning: You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

Mesl-e âb khordan

Literally: Like drinking water

Meaning: A piece of cake (simple/easy)

Bâ shâh fâludeh nemikhore.

Literally: They won’t eat faludeh with the king.

Meaning: They think they’re all that/full of themselves.

When the king (or queen) invites you to fâludeh, you don’t even think about it. You go! But a person who thinks highly of themselves and is just too cool for school can’t even be bothered with the king and his sad invitation to fâludeh.

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