Literal translation
there is never too much bread, and there are teeth left over to eat it
Meaning
there's never too much bread, and teeth to spare for it
Explanation
This saying asserts that one can never have too much bread, dismissing in advance the idea that there could ever be an excess of it. Troup (too much) and pan (bread) set out the idea that an abundance of bread is never a problem ; the second half, e de dènt n'i a de rèsto, literally and of teeth there remain some, from the verb resta (to remain), adds that the means to eat it, namely teeth, are never lacking either. The saying thus plays on a false worry : in a society where bread was long the very basis of diet and its scarcity a real threat, saying one could never have too much amounts to celebrating abundance as an absolute good, never an excess. Its register is that of peasant wisdom tied to the value of bread, often quoted at the table to justify a second helping or to avoid going without. Built from two clauses linked by e (and), the saying moves from the food itself to the organ that consumes it, in reasoning that is both logical and mischievous.