«زَيِّ النِّسْنَاسْ مَرْبُوطْ مِنْ وِسْطُهْ»

The saying describes a person who cannot leave where they are because circumstances hold them fast. Like a small monkey tethered by a band around its middle, they may shift about within a short range, but cannot run off; the rope always pulls them back.

The point is involuntary staying put rather than laziness, contentment, or total confinement. Responsibilities, needs, or events act as the rope, and the comparison casts the person as restrained against their wish to move on or slip away.

Use it of someone kept in one place by obligations, duties, or circumstances rather than by choice, such as a person who cannot travel because of work or family needs. It can carry a wry, sympathetic tone about being unable to get away.