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> Like a ray-fish, eating while walking. The ray-fish does not stop swimming while chewing food it has gathered while weaving along the ocean floor. The saying may be applied to any rude behavior or particularly to the act of walking and eating, which is considered impolite. It can also be applied to a person who is trying to hurry through a job without giving it careful attention. |
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> Like the crotch of an aristocratic woman. Women of the wealthy elite in old Palau would be tattooed up the entire leg and about the thighs and hips. Reference is to the black color of such tattooing and the phrase may be applied to any dark occasion, but usually to dark clouds. |
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> A male child, though small, is yet like a small barracuda that braces against the flowing stream. The small barracuda (mersaod, a small ai) can be seen bracing, without apparent motion, against the stream, usually where fresh water flows into the lagoon, or where tide water runs off the reef, until suddenly it dashes into the stream to grab a small fish. Then it retreats once more to its place of watchfulness. This watchful, quiet, reserved, almost crafty approach to life is much admired, and parents will encourage their male children with this saying. |
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> He's like the sea urchins between Ngiwal and Melekeok, on the ocean floor with its cover. The sea urchin can be seen lying quietly on the lagoon floor, occasionally with a leaf like a hat covering its head. Applied to a man who acquires a wife or great wealth without working for it. |
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> You're just like a lobster (flambuoyant in color but prone to hide under rocks. You dress up fancy but never go anywhere. Applicable to a person who prides himself on great wealth but does not put it to work; or to one who dresses to the hilt, then stays home. It may once have been applied to villages that were well armed, but peaceful. |
