In English
“if you don't step on the ant you won't find its guts”
Meaning
'If yuh nuh mash ants, yuh nuh find him guts' — if you don't step on the ant, you won't find out what is inside it. You only discover what is hidden — the truth, the trouble, or the real substance of a thing — once you disturb it or look into it, the proverb observes; nothing is revealed until you engage with it. It can counsel investigation, that you must probe a matter to learn its secrets, or warn that meddling uncovers what might have stayed hidden — either way, that nothing hidden comes to light untouched.
Examples
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Yuh haffi dig inna di matter fi know di truth; if yuh nuh mash ants, yuh nuh find him guts.
You have to dig into the matter to know the truth; nothing's revealed until you look into it.
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Wen di argument start, di real feelings come out; if yuh nuh mash ants, yuh nuh find him guts.
When the argument started, the real feelings came out; disturb a thing and its insides show.
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Yuh nuh know smaddy till yuh press dem; if yuh nuh mash ants, yuh nuh find him guts.
You don't know someone until you test them; you find what's inside only by disturbing it.
Origin
A small-creature image: an ant's insides are hidden until it is crushed underfoot — a figure for hidden truths that surface only when a matter is disturbed or provoked.
How it’s used
Used to say that the true nature of a thing or person is revealed only once it is stirred up or tested.