- English translation
A taking hand is never a giving hand.
- Literal wording
The hand that takes does not give.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying portrays someone accustomed to receiving from others as unlikely to become a giver in return. It expresses skepticism that a person whose usual role is to ask for help will reciprocate later.
Speakers may use it to lower expectations of reciprocity after repeated requests or dependence. Its force is critical and generalized, however, and it can stigmatize people who need assistance; it is not a reliable judgment about every person who asks for help.
- When it is used
Use it to criticize a perceived pattern in which someone repeatedly asks for help but is not expected to return favors. It is stronger than a comment on one request and should be used cautiously, since it generalizes about people who depend on assistance.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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