- English translation
His hopes always fall through, and he has no skill to fall back on.
- Literal wording
Disappointed in hope, and unskilled in work.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying paints a person who suffers a double misfortune: whatever they wish for never comes true, because fortune does not favor them, and they also lack skill or experience in any work that might earn them a living. The charge is inexperience, not general stupidity.
Its sting lies in the combination, sharpened by two rhyming, balanced halves. Bad luck alone might be offset by skill, and clumsiness might be rescued by good fortune, but someone burdened with both has nothing to fall back on and is about as wretched as one can be.
- When it is used
A colloquial saying, used about someone who keeps hoping without ever succeeding and who also lacks any useful skill, so neither luck nor ability carries them. It often has a pitying or mocking edge, so apply it carefully to real people.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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