Expression "to arrive at a place with your hands hanging"

Question

In Spanish language there is an expression "llegar con las manos colgando", that can be literally translated to something like:

If you are invited to a friend's party or social gathering, you need to bring some food or drinks, you can't just show up "with your hands hanging" (from your arms).

This is to express that if you are not holding anything in your hands when your host greets you, then you are empty handed, so your hands are just hanging from your arms, which can be considered bad manners.

Is there an equivalent expression in English, other than the generic being "empty-handed"?

Answer 1

In A Dictionary of Hiberno-English: The Irish Use of English by Terence Patrick Dolan there is the entry: arm. Here we can read: "He came home with one arm as long as the other (i.e., without any kind of present ...)".

Also, on urbandictionary.com we can read:

One arm as long as the other
Basically turning up somewhere with nothing to give when something is expected. i.e coming to a party empty handed. Irish in origin

Jim: "Dave arrived in late to the wedding yesterday, the clown"
John: "Typical. Did he bring a pressie"
Jim: "Not at all, arrived in with one arm as long as the other [emphasis added]"

So, Spanish expression "llegar con las manos colgando" seems perfectly equivalent to English "one arm as long as the other".

Answer 2

"Don't show up empty-handed." gets 4,400,000 hits on Google. I'd say that's probably the winner ... hands down.

Answer 3

My mother has often said that she never liked to arrive at a social gathering with both arms the same length, which I think captures well the spirit of your Spanish expression.

My mother is English, but has lived in Ireland long enough to pick up many Irish expressions. I don't know where this expression originates.

Answer 4

To have nothing to contribute is, in fact, one of the principal meanings of empty-handed, and what I would turn to naturally: We can't just show up to the baby shower empty-handed!

There are more colorful words for those who exploit others' generosity, though— moocher, freeloader, schnorrer, sponge, free-rider*— or those who would do anything to save a little money—cheapskate, skinflint, tightwad. We can't just show up to the picnic empty-handed, they'll think we're moochers.

Answer 5

My husband's family, who are Northern Irish, use the expression "the two arms the one length"--which means not carrying anything--to describe someone who arrives at another's home not bringing a gift of some sort, usually to a celebration, meal, etc.

Answer 6

I too was going to add the old folk saying of your standing there with both your arms the same length, in other words help me and don't stand doing nothing. It is also a English saying from the countryside and has origins in English folk lore tho looking on the Internet it is difficult to find this origin and saying.. It does however crop up in a 1970s thriller /esoteric/folk horror drama pendas fen 1974.from play for today..

Answer 7

Robin and a couple of others are correct. I am a native of Northern Ireland, and the phrase “Standing there with your two arms the same length” means “why are you standing there not helping”. I came online to check if the phrase was well known enough to show up in a Google search. Mostly because I used it with my Texan daughter today.