proverb · Words worth keeping
The empty leech sucks sore.
The empty leech sucks sore.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying pictures an empty leech sucking intensely. As an explicit analogy, a strong unmet demand may be imagined to increase the force of taking.
What the words are saying
Empty supplies the need and sucks sore the effect. A responsible human application can examine pressure from a shortage without treating people in need as parasites or implying poverty makes them dishonest. The image is not a verified account of leech behaviour. Its useful question is how an actual unmet demand affects an arrangement.
Everyday example
A group looks at a resource shortage contributing to repeated demands instead of insulting those asking for help.
When to use it
Use it as a clearly stated analogy about demand and pressure.
What it does not mean
The animal image does not establish biology or the character of people lacking resources.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 942 · Leech
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English