«اِللِّي يَاكُل الْفَتَّهْ يِطْلَعِ الصَّارِي»

The proverb states that receiving payment or the food given for a task carries an obligation to perform that task. It condemns taking what is offered in return for labor while declining the labor itself.

Its maritime image presents the duty as concrete and demanding: the person who has eaten must go up the ship’s mast. The saying therefore joins compensation directly to doing the assigned work.

Use it when someone has accepted food or wages connected with a job but hesitates to carry out the work expected in return. It stresses that payment and performance are inseparable.