Balaam's Ass

according to Hebrew myth (preserved in the biblical Book of Numbers), the ass on which the soothsayer Balaam rode to Balak, the king of the state of Moab, in order to curse the Israelites, who were waging war against Moab, and guarantee a Moabite victory. According to the myth, Balaam’s ass, after thrice seeing an angel with an unsheathed sword blocking its way, suddenly began to speak, and when Balaam reached Balak, he blessed the Israelites instead of cursing them.

In the figurative sense, “Balaam’s ass” is used to describe a silent, downtrodden person who suddenly says something worthy of attention. Recently the term has been used primarily in an ironic sense in Russian, designating a silent person who begins to speak unexpectedly and says something extremely stupid.