- English translation
Forever moaning about his poor eyes and going to bed hungry.
- Literal wording
He complains of dim sight and of spending the night with no supper.
- Meaning and lesson
The proverb sketches a person who lists every hardship at once: weak eyes, an empty stomach at bedtime. The word for weak sight is clipped so it rhymes with the word for supper, and the paired grievances sound like a ready-made litany, suggesting complaint has become a reflex rather than a response to real misfortune.
It is aimed at people who habitually bemoan their lot without good cause. The speaker implies the complaints are exaggerated or unwarranted, and that the person enjoys playing the victim more than their actual situation would justify.
- When it is used
Use it, usually with gentle or pointed teasing, about someone who keeps lamenting their circumstances when the grievance is overstated or baseless. It suits casual talk among people who know the complainer's habits; applied to someone in genuine need, it misfires and can seem callous.
- Register
- Colloquial Arabic proverb with a rhyming, mildly mocking tone
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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