- English translation
A hand raised to act but held back at the crucial moment is fit to be severed.
- Literal wording
The hand that reaches out but does not strike deserves to be cut off.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying condemns a person who moves forward as if ready to act, then recoils. It treats retreat after such an advance as a shameful failure of nerve, especially in a confrontation.
Its image of cutting off a hand is figurative, not an instruction to harm anyone. The deliberately violent image gives the rebuke its severe, condemnatory force toward hesitation after an apparent show of resolve.
- When it is used
Use it as a severe rebuke for someone who steps forward in a confrontation and then retreats instead of acting. Because its figurative imagery is violent and deliberately harsh, it suits strongly condemnatory speech rather than neutral advice.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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