Literal translation
to have one's wrist cut off
Meaning
to claim generosity while actually being stingy
Explanation
The full expression, agué lou couar sus la man e lou pougnet coupa, to have one's heart on one's hand and one's wrist cut off, clarifies the whole meaning behind the shorter phrase: the person claims to have their heart on their hand, that is, to be ready to give without counting, but the severed wrist actually prevents any real gesture of generosity. The image plays on this absurd, comic physical paradox, an outstretched hand attached to an arm that cannot follow through with any actual gift. It targets people who put on a show of generosity, who talk readily of sharing or largesse, but who turn out, in practice, to be stingy and never really open their purse. The register is familiar and quite mocking, used to call out an easily recognizable social hypocrisy, that of generous talk never followed by action. The short form assumes the listener knows the full saying to grasp its full irony.