- English translation
A good scrub with a loofah does you more good than a whole trussed chicken.
- Literal wording
Every bath with a loofah is better than a trussed chicken.
- Meaning and lesson
The proverb holds that keeping the body clean matters more to well-being than eating a fine dish. A thorough scrub is presented as a greater benefit than a chicken cooked whole with its parts drawn tightly together, because nourishment is thought to do little good for a body left unwashed.
In practice it works as a prompt toward cleanliness. By setting a humble bath against a prized meal and declaring the bath the winner, it makes personal hygiene sound like a real gain for health, not a chore to be skipped. It ranks cleanliness first without dismissing good food.
- When it is used
Use it to nudge someone toward washing, bathing, or general hygiene, especially when they seem to put comfort or good meals ahead of keeping clean. It suits light, homely encouragement rather than formal health advice.
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- Colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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