- English translation
Any charity a destitute person claims to give would be better kept for his own needs.
- Literal wording
What the needy fellow gives as alms, he should lick up himself.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying derides someone who displays generosity or offers more than their circumstances can reasonably sustain. It implies that meeting one’s own pressing needs should come before giving in a way that suggests resources the person does not truly have.
It can also dismiss a report that a person seen as especially needy gave something away: if the resource existed, the saying reasons, they would have kept it for themselves. Its framing relies on a demeaning portrayal of neediness and dependence, rather than endorsing that stereotype.
- When it is used
Use it to criticize showy giving beyond someone’s means, or to express disbelief that a person viewed as very needy gave something away. It is dismissive and can be harsh or insulting, especially toward a named or identifiable person, because it ridicules both poverty and claimed generosity.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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