mat bedeesh

Model Behavior & the usual suspects: Rana on the left, Samiha on the right

So I ask Samiha about Arabic colloquialisms, and what I love about language exchange is what gets lost in translation. I ask her for a phrase equivalent to "don't have a cow," for which we assumed had a similar Arabic phrase "don't lay an egg." I'm so enthusiastic about the phrase that I even use it with my Egyptian professor (who obviously speaks Arabic.)

During an otherwise lovely girls night out I meet Sam's long time family friend Shadh, who happens to be a local architect. Shadh and I are trading conversation when we come to the subject of my conversational Arabic. It kinda goes something like this:

Me: "Oh yeah, Samiha and I are even talking about giving a joint Pecha Kucha in English and Arabic"
Shadh: "Oh that sounds fun! What phrases have you learned so far?"
Me: "Little things, you know like yanni, or yellah or haram...or mat bedeesh..."
Mortified Shadh: "WHO TAUGHT YOU MAT BEDEESH" (what doesn't come through in type here is her facial expression which seemed to ask a simultaneous question, do you kiss your mother with that mouth)
Me: "Samiha, it's Arabic for don't lay an egg, you know, like relax"
Shadh: "I hope you didn't repeat that to anybody, it means get your (insert appropriate male anatomy referent) off me."

This is going to be the best 6:40 sec presentation e-v-e-r.