- English translation
Better to jingle your own coins than to wag your beard asking someone else for them.
- Literal wording
Shake your money, and do not shake your beard.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying recommends managing your affairs so that, when an expense comes up, you have your own cash to pay with. Here money means cash in general, not any particular coin. Having your own funds on hand is presented as the dignified alternative to depending on other people's generosity.
The contrasting image is the borrower or petitioner who wags his beard while talking, nodding and gesturing as he pleads for a loan or a favor. The same verb, shake, governs both money and beard, sharpening the contrast. The proverb treats that posture as humbling and suggests that foresight and saving spare a person from it.
- When it is used
Use when urging thrift, planning, or financial independence, such as warning someone who spends carelessly that they will end up asking others for help. It suits friendly advice or gentle rebuke rather than formal argument.
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- Colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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