- English translation
If you cannot overcome a powerful hand, show it deference.
- Literal wording
Kiss the hand that you cannot cut off.
- Meaning and lesson
When a stronger person or force cannot be resisted, the proverb counsels restraint and outward accommodation rather than open confrontation. It presents submission as a practical response to unequal power.
The saying can express hard, calculating realism: protect yourself by yielding where defiance would fail. Its forceful imagery may also convey bitterness or criticism of compelled deference, rather than approval of submission.
- When it is used
Used when advising someone not to provoke an opponent who is presently too powerful to challenge. It may be serious tactical counsel or a critical remark about being forced to flatter or yield to power, and can sound cynical or humiliating depending on tone.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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