- English translation
Had we stooped to collecting every scrap lying around, our mattress would be stuffed full by now.
- Literal wording
If we had gathered up the bits of straw, we would have filled the mattress.
- Meaning and lesson
The speaker insists that prosperity was always within reach. Anyone willing to pick up every stray fragment from here and there would amass a great deal. The full mattress is figurative, standing for accumulated wealth or plenty rather than literal bedding.
The real point is a refusal. The speaker chose not to live that way because self-respect forbids grubbing after trifles. The proverb turns relative poverty into a badge of dignity, presenting restraint as a deliberate virtue rather than a failure to succeed.
- When it is used
Suitable when someone explains modest circumstances as a matter of principle, or answers a suggestion to profit from small, undignified gains. Said of oneself it can sound boastful; said of others it may imply their gains came from grasping. It is less fitting as advice.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Had we stooped to collecting every scrap lying around, our mattress would be stuffed full by now.