«زَيِّ النَّحْلْ مَا يْطَلَّعُوشْ إِلَّا الدُّخَّانْ»

The image comes from beekeeping: when honey is collected, smoke is blown into the hive to drive the bees out, since nothing gentler makes them leave. The proverb borrows this practice to describe people who stay put until something unpleasant forces them to move.

Applied to human behavior, it characterizes those who will not cooperate or comply when treated kindly and who respond only to firmness, pressure, or force. The speaker implies that soft methods are wasted on them and only severity works. Its plural wording usually points at a group, though it can be turned on one stubborn person.

Said about people, usually a group, who ignore requests or polite reminders and act only under real pressure or harsh measures. Because it likens them to insects and implies only coercion works, it sounds contemptuous and can insult if aimed at someone directly; it suits complaining about them.