( It would actually be "He who stings, garlic eats" , but this time we will let it pass. ) It is another locution that may have more than one interpretation. On the one hand it is used to point out who is referred to in a negative comment, revealing some kind of guilt. See having straw tail. On the other hand, it is a comment to recognize the effort of someone who goes through many hardships or had to insist a lot to get something.
