«اِلْحِجْرْ خَالِي وِاللَّبَنْ لِلدِّيلْ»

The saying pictures a woman whose lap holds no infant while her milk flows so freely that it soaks the hem of her garment. Abundant nourishment is ready, but there is no child to receive it, so the plenty simply goes to waste.

Applied to people, it describes someone denied a thing even though they could easily afford to maintain it. The milk stands for wealth or capacity, and the empty lap for the absent object of that generosity. The result is a bittersweet picture of resources without an outlet.

Use it of someone who has ample means but lacks the very thing those means could provide for, such as a wealthy person with no one to spend on. It need not refer to literal childlessness. The tone is rueful and sympathetic rather than mocking.