- English translation
Whoever has nothing to do ends up playing judge.
- Literal wording
The idle one acts as a judge.
- Meaning and lesson
A person with nothing of his own to attend to has the time to listen to other people's complaints and quarrels, weigh them, and hand down a verdict. Freedom from work becomes the very thing that lets him step into the role of arbiter.
The saying ties idleness to self-appointed judging. Having no task to fill the day, the unoccupied person fills it with others' disputes, making their conflicts his occupation. In Arabic, the words fāḍi (idle) and qāḍi (judge) rhyme, giving the line a neat, memorable ring.
- When it is used
Suited to remarks about someone with spare time who takes it upon himself to hear other people's grievances and settle their arguments, as a way of keeping busy. It fits observations about idleness turning into involvement in disputes that are not one's own.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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