- English translation
We have been burned front and back, and our enemy still has not had enough.
- Literal wording
The face and the back of the neck have been burned, yet the enemy is still not satisfied.
- Meaning and lesson
The image is of someone scorched on both the face and the nape, so that no side of them has escaped injury. Set against that complete damage is an adversary whose grudge remains unquenched, as though the harm already done counted for nothing in their eyes.
The saying turns on a bitter contrast between how much has been lost and how little it has done to placate the other side. It voices exhaustion and grievance: the sufferer has nothing left to give, yet the hostility facing them shows no sign of ending.
- When it is used
Suited to moments of complaint when someone has endured blow after blow and sees a rival or ill-wisher still pressing for more. Its weary, aggrieved tone fits venting about one's own misfortunes rather than neutral description of events.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: We have been burned front and back, and our enemy still has not had enough.