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In Iraqi Arabic, there's a term "gowatra". In a sentence, the expression will be used like, "it is not guatra [to do this or that, to have this, to get this]". That word or idiom simply means you can't just get a job somewhere, or pretty much do anything that requires skills without any prior knowledge, certificates, experience, etc. An example:

  • Monica: I wonder if my best friend, who is a teacher, can let me work with her as her assistant.
  • Miranda: People can't just get into positions that require a set of skills. It is not [insert word] to do such things.

A bit complicated to explain its meaning concisely in the title. But I hope you got the gist. To note, the expression doesn't have to pertain to working or jobs. Just any thing that relates to jumping into an adept position without any skills or knowledge. So they say, "it is not guwatra to do that".

I don't know the Arabic word's exact etymological meaning. But that's how it's used in sentences (as you saw above). Can't think of an equivalent English term. Both single words and idioms are welcome.

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    Idiomatically: “That’s just not how it’s done.” Commented yesterday
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    "It's not something you can do just like that"? Commented yesterday
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    It's not clear what meaning you're looking for.  Is this indicating specifically that something is not possible without relevant qualifications?  Not possible for just anyone?  Not appropriate?  Not acceptable?  Not in accordance with prevailing custom?  Not easy to do?  Likely to incur people's anger or disdain?
    – gidds
    Commented 22 hours ago
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    One does not simply walk into Mordor... Commented 21 hours ago
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    More usage examples would be great! I usually need a wide variety of examples to understand what an idiom means.
    – Vectornaut
    Commented 9 hours ago

5 Answers 5

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"كوترة" looks like an adverb/adverbial to me, originally meaning buying/selling goods without weighing, going on to generally mean receiving/giving something casually or haphazardly, implying more benefit to the receiver than the giver.

For your example, off the top of my head is "willy-nilly":

Such jobs aren't given willy-nilly.
It's not (done) willy-nilly.

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There is the somewhat tautologous but idiomatic expression

  • One can't just casually walk into such a post.

The senses below are selected for relevance.

casually: in a way that shows indifference, apathy, or a lack of intention or understanding:

  • She strolled in casually, as if she weren’t late. [Dictionary.com]

casually: without much care or thought; without paying attention to detail [Oxford Learner's Dictionary]

casually: [done] done without much thought, effort, or concern [Britannica Dictionary]

And I see @Andy Bonner has overlapped:

walk into: achieve a state or position easily or undeservedly.

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  • The recent memes based on "one does not simply walk into..." may be the closest some non-native speakers have seen to this. Depending on context that may be a good thing, or it might be worth avoiding setting up that image
    – Chris H
    Commented 1 hour ago
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One could certainly use trivial, which means easy, simple, straightforward.

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Wearing the Crown is no sinecure.

A sinecure is a position requiring little or no work but giving the holder status or financial benefit.
Examples in Cambridge disctionnary

If you have a cushy job — one that pays, but involves minimal work — then you have a sinecure. "Because he was the brother of the CEO, he was offered a sinecure in the company: he showed up each day and collected a paycheck, but others actually did his work."
Examples in Vocabulary.com

However, It doesn't mean that you have no skills in the domain, just that there is very few work to perform.

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"gowatra" Gowatra is one of the oldest cities in Assam India , we woul not act in such a way in such a fine city , it is not the Gowatra way or good etiquette , walking into my house without removing yours shoes is not very Gowatra at all.

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