- English translation
Bad enough to land in Hell, but must I also sit back by the shabby shoes?!
- Literal wording
Hell, and by the worn-out slippers?!
- Meaning and lesson
The speaker protests a double injury: one serious misfortune already weighs on them, and on top of it comes a further humiliation. Hell stands for the main calamity, and the spot near the door where rough, worn sandals are left marks the lowest, most degrading seat.
The saying voices indignation at receiving two hardships together, the second feeling entirely gratuitous. Its force comes less from how harsh either blow is than from their pairing, since an already grim situation is made needlessly worse by an added affront to one's dignity.
- When it is used
Fits moments when someone already burdened with a misfortune is handed an extra slight or indignity, voiced as an exasperated rhetorical question. It suits complaints about compounded bad luck or unfair treatment, delivered in a wry or bitter tone.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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