- English translation
It's the plump, featherless chick that ends up under the knife.
- Literal wording
The naked chick faces the knife.
- Meaning and lesson
The scene shows a young bird featherless by nature, not plucked or stripped, the kind of chick that tends to be the fattest. Because of that natural plumpness it is judged ready for the table, and so it is brought before the blade. The image says nothing about human poverty or undress.
Taken figuratively, the saying observes that a creature already suited to be slaughtered is handed over to the one who does the slaughtering. Its own readiness for that end is what delivers it into his hands.
- When it is used
Suits a remark about something whose own condition already makes it fit for slaughter, observing that this fitness is what places it before the one holding the knife. Keep any application close to that image rather than stretching it into broader claims about fate or misfortune.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: It's the plump, featherless chick that ends up under the knife.