proverb · Words worth keeping
A fat sorrow is better than a lean one.
A fat sorrow is better than a lean one.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Having resources can ease some burdens of a difficult situation. Fat and lean sorrow contrast hardship with and without material support.
Example
A community provides meals during a bereavement, easing daily demands without claiming to remove the loss.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The saying makes two sorrows differ in the resources surrounding them. It can recognise that food, shelter or practical assistance matters even when it cannot remove the underlying sadness. The comparison should not minimise grief experienced by someone with money or turn suffering into a competition. A useful reading identifies the help resources can supply while allowing the emotional difficulty to remain real.
When to use it
Use it to acknowledge practical support alongside a continuing sorrow.
Keep in mind
Resources do not cancel grief, and different hardships need not be ranked against one another.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their 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
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English