«لَا لِلسِّيفْ وَلَا لِلضِّيفْ»

Describes a person of no practical worth: someone who lacks the courage to defend others when danger arrives, and who also lacks the generosity to welcome and feed those who come to his door. Both measures reflect traditional ideals of male honor, and he fails each.

The Arabic pairs sayf (sword) with dayf (guest), two rhyming words that make the dismissal short and memorable. The same frame can be turned into praise by dropping the negation: being 'for the sword and for the guest' marks someone as both brave and hospitable.

Used to dismiss someone judged useless, especially a person expected to offer protection or hospitality who provides neither. It is a pointed insult that can give offense if said to someone directly; stated affirmatively, the pattern becomes a compliment for courage combined with generosity.