- English translation
Shearing makes a donkey look bigger, but it makes a camel look smaller.
- Literal wording
Clip your donkey, it grows big; and clip your camel, it grows small.
- Meaning and lesson
The image contrasts two animals under the same shears. A trimmed donkey looks sleek and impressive, while a camel stripped of its thick coat looks scrawny. Only their appearance changes, not their bodies. The saying judges neither animal; a single action simply produces a gain in one case and a loss in the other.
In general use, the saying holds that suitability depends on the subject. An approach, adjustment, or improvement that benefits one thing cannot be assumed to help another. Each case calls for treatment matched to its own nature.
- When it is used
Use it when someone wants to apply a method that worked well in one case to a very different person, object, or situation. It warns that what flatters or improves one thing may diminish another, and it suits advice about fitting choices to circumstances.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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