«عَوِيلِ الشُّغْلْ شَاطِرِ الْكِرَا»

The saying describes someone whose effort and skill fall short while their demands for payment stay high. Its key word here means weak or poor in quality, not 'wailing' as in standard Arabic, nor its other colloquial sense of a lowly person living off others. It sets flimsy work beside a sharp instinct for collecting wages.

It is a judgment aimed at a specific individual whose conduct fits this pattern. It is not a general rule that weak workers end up well paid. The remark works as reproach or ridicule, suggesting the person cares more about earnings than about doing the job properly.

Used as a pointed remark about a specific worker, hired hand, or tradesperson whose effort is poor but who bargains hard and charges a lot. It suits complaints about value for money and carries a mocking, critical tone.