- English translation
The more children he had, the thinner his provisions grew.
- Literal wording
From the great number of his children, his provisions became few.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying links a large number of children directly to a shrinking store of food and means. Every additional mouth draws on the same limited supply, so a household that grows in size tends to grow poorer in what each member can receive.
More broadly, the expression observes that abundance in one respect can produce scarcity in another. It notes the material burden that comes with many dependents, presenting the strain as a natural consequence of numbers rather than as a moral failing on the parent's part.
- When it is used
Fits conversations about household budgets strained by many dependents, whether as a sympathetic remark about a struggling parent or as a wry comment on resources divided too many ways. Use it gently, since remarks about a real family's size can sound intrusive or judgmental.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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