- English translation
The good-for-nothing druggist squanders the mastic but hovers over the wrapping paper.
- Literal wording
The tar of a druggist loses the mastic and keeps watch over the paper.
- Meaning and lesson
The image is a hopeless druggist, an old-style seller of remedies and drugs, branded with the scornful epithet "tar" for his worthlessness. He lets his mastic, a costly resin, slip away through careless sale, yet anxiously guards the cheap paper used to wrap it. His vigilance is aimed at exactly the wrong thing.
Applied to people, the saying faults anyone who squanders what is essential or valuable while carefully protecting what is incidental and nearly worthless. It exposes misplaced priorities and a kind of foolish stinginess that saves pennies while losing the real wealth.
- When it is used
Use it to mock someone who wastes or carelessly gives away what truly matters while fussing over trivial extras, as with a manager who loses major resources yet polices petty supplies. It is pointed and derisive, suiting criticism rather than gentle advice.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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