- English translation
Like a needle that clothes everyone else but goes naked itself.
- Literal wording
Like the needle: it clothes people while it is naked.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying pictures a needle: every garment that dresses other people is made by passing through it, yet the needle itself never wears a stitch. It is applied to someone whose work, skill, or resources keep serving others while bringing nothing back to them.
The emphasis falls on the gap between what a person provides and what returns to them: benefit flows outward without pause, and the one whose effort makes it possible is left with no share. The point is unrewarded service, not poverty in general.
- When it is used
Use it about someone whose labor steadily benefits others while they themselves gain nothing from it, for instance a person who keeps relatives, colleagues, or customers well provided for yet remains empty-handed.
- Register
- Colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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