- English translation
Once he had eaten his fill and leaned back, he complained that the food smelled of mastic.
- Literal wording
After he had eaten and reclined, he said, “Its smell is mastic.”
- Meaning and lesson
The saying mocks someone who enjoys a thing until their need is satisfied, then begins to find faults in it. Their criticism comes only after they have already taken the benefit they wanted.
It also rebukes belated disdain: someone dismisses food, help, or another advantage when refusal costs nothing. Mastic is an aromatic resin or gum; the point is the speaker’s late complaint, not that mastic itself is unpleasant.
- When it is used
Use it when someone accepts and benefits from something, then disparages it after their purpose has been served. It criticizes opportunistic fault-finding, especially when the person’s earlier conduct shows that the alleged defect did not stop them from taking advantage.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Once he had eaten his fill and leaned back, he complained that the food smelled of mastic.