ProverbHub
Arabic · Arabic scriptProverb: Verified

«اِللِّي مَا يِفْضَلْ مِنُّهْ جَعَانْ»

Meanings

Each meaning is reviewed on its own.

Meaning: Verified
English translation

A person who leaves no leftovers is still hungry.

Literal wording

Whoever leaves nothing behind is hungry.

Meaning and lesson

Rather than asking whether someone has eaten enough, the proverb lets the bottom of the dish give the answer: when not a single morsel remains, appetite is presumed to be still at work.

The same reading carries over to any case where someone draws a supply down to nothing. The emptiness left behind serves as a visible sign that the person's need or desire for that thing has not yet been met.

When it is used

Someone might say it on seeing a dish wiped completely clean, or extend it to anyone who uses up every bit of something on offer, hinting that this person would gladly take more.

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