"Más da el duro que el desnudo"
Can anyone help me figure out what the saying
"Más da el duro que el desnudo"
means?
All I know from context is that it is supposed to be a quote illustrating 'gente más rica aunque no muy generosa', so I guess it's to do with stinginess.
(Is 'duro' used in the sense meaning hard, or the sense meaning a low-value coin')
thanks you so much!
7 Answers
Guaito said:
El libro de refranes de Guaito dice: "Más da el duro que el desnudo" Señala el refrán que de los ruines y avaros siempre es posible obtener algo, aunque sean las migajas; del que no tiene nada, en cambio, nada se puede esperar.
The Spanish here is very similar to what Eddy provided in English. The only thing that occurs to me for English proverbs/saws that is even remotely similar (and it's still not a very good fit would be "You can't get blood from a stone (because it doesn't have any).
Zoltán said:
I don't get it. Please help a hard-headed one to understand.
To me, it certainly doesn't look a good proverb. Basically no matter how hard hearted someone is, they will never give less (I suppose charity) than a nude person (who obviously can give nothing even if he wants to). I am trying to think of the English equivalent but my brain isn't awake yet. Maybe someone else can amplify.
I think that duro here means hard or hard-hearted or even as you have implied, Stingy or tight or someone who doesn't care about other peoples circumstances. The refran means:
"more is given by the hard-hearted than by the naked" or something similar.
I realize i am answering this question 2 years too late, but just to help close the book.
In spain, before they switched to the euro, they had pesetas, which i'm sure most people know. One of the coins they had was the "duro" which was worth five peseta. So, in this sentence, duro doesnt mean hard or tough guy, it means the five-peseta coin.
Thus, the statement literally means something like "More five-peseta coins to those who are naked".
I think the basic idea behind the use of "desnudo" is not that the person is literally naked, but that they are free of lies, and are completely honest. So i think the moral of this proverb is something along the lines of: "Success comes to those who are honest".
El libro de refranes de Guaito dice:
"Más da el duro que el desnudo"
Señala el refrán que de los ruines y avaros siempre es posible obtener algo, aunque sean las migajas; del que no tiene nada, en cambio, nada se puede esperar.
It is slowly sinking in. Nude=Lack of anything.
I don't get it. Please help a hard-headed one to understand. 
