«مِسَلَّه بْعَشَرَهْ تِفَلِّسْ حُمَارْ»

The image is a large packing needle or prod, bought for a few copper coins, used as a goad. Jabbed again and again into a donkey, it keeps the animal hurrying until it is spent and can go no further. The tool costs almost nothing, yet the large beast is the one brought down.

The verb usually means to bankrupt, but here it means to exhaust or disable, not financial ruin. Figuratively, the saying warns that something small and cheap can hurt, wear down, and overpower something far larger, so a minor instrument, nuisance, or person should not be scorned.

Use it when someone dismisses a cheap tool, a minor person, or a small irritation as harmless, to point out that such trifles can still torment, slow down, or defeat someone much bigger and stronger.