- English translation
Whoever puts out his leg should not then put out a hand to ask.
- Literal wording
He who stretches out his leg does not stretch out his hand.
- Meaning and lesson
The proverb pits two bodily gestures against each other: the leg extended by someone sitting at ease and unbothered, and the open palm of a supplicant. It treats these postures as mutually exclusive, so one person cannot adopt both toward the same people.
Underneath the image lies a principle of consistency and self-respect. Independence, once asserted, carries an obligation to live by it; seeking favors afterward undercuts one's own stance and leaves the asker open to rebuke.
- When it is used
Fits moments of reproach, when a person's earlier air of needing nobody sits awkwardly beside a request for money, help, or favors directed at those very people.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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