Literal translation
big eater is not a giver
Meaning
a big eater is rarely a big giver
Explanation
This short saying links gluttony to selfishness : gros manjaire (big eater, from manjaire, eater, also meaning prodigal) names someone who consumes without measure, while dounaire (giver) names someone who shares. The negation n'es pas sets the two sharply apart : whoever thinks first of their own plate leaves little room, in character, for generosity toward others. The image rests on a piece of peasant common sense : the table is where character shows itself, and whoever serves themselves first and most generously thereby reveals how little they think of others. The saying is used in a familiar register, often with a smile, to comment on someone who hogs food at the table or, more broadly, on someone stingy in sharing resources. Its form, two masculine nouns ending in -aire mirrored by the negation, gives it an almost proverbial ring, easy to quote in one breath to close a remark about someone ungenerous.