Khalas!

Quite possibly my favorite word in the Egyptian Arabic dialect. It may also be the one I use most frequently. Khalas means "final" or "finished" and may be applied when one is through eating something or ordering in a restaurant. At times, I have been known to shout "Khalas!" to my students to indicate I am "finished" with their disruptive chatter or disrespectful backtalk.

However, perhaps my favorite meaning of khalas is the "I'm finished with you" implication. Ahhhh...now you see where I'm heading with this. Case in point: my driver dropped me off at the wrong airport terminal for my flight to Turkey over the Christmas holiday. It was 3am and I was stranded outside terminal 1 with no way to get the mere 5 miles to terminal 2. Oh, that is save for the throngs of ravenous wolves greasy men clamoring me for taxi patronage. Since time was at a premium, I did what I hate most- talked to those greasy, creepy men about a taxi. With my back against the proverbial wall, I- small, white, American female out in the dead of night- used what little bargaining power I had to somewhat minimize the outrageous amount of money I was ripped off. (I might have also enlisted the assistance of an all-too-eager-to-help English/Arabic speaking airline clerk who later gave me his digits.)

I digress.

'We' negotiated the taxi price down to 30 L.E. (6 USD), still a ridiculous price considering a cab across town to Maadi runs for that fare. Whatever. With limited options, I agreed to be fleeced, climbed into the cab, and chalked it up to a "learning experience". Nearing the end of the 5 minute journey, the cab driver predictably began to needle his hostage for more money. And needled some more. Cajoled. And demanded. Exhausted and vulnerable, my rapidly diminishing fuse blew: "KHALAS!"..."I'm through with YOU!" Cabbie nodded and smiled slightly. It wasn't long before I heard him muttering under his breath "khalas?"

KHALAS!