|
> Like the blind man of Ngetmel, twisting twine into the fire. The image is that of a blind elder, warming his frail body beside the fire while twisting strands of fiber into twine against his thigh. Only as he pulls the finished twine away, he pushes it into the flames. The saying may be applied to any utterly pointless activity or dissipation of wealth. |
|
> You're like a stinkbug that burns itself in the fire. i.e., you get involved in things that may hurt you. |
|
> 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. |
|
> Like coconut syrup. A general reference to incestuous relations. That this is a recent idiom, probably first used during the period of Japanese administration, is suggested by the Japanese word "ameyu," used in Palau to mean coconut syrup. The incident from which the idiom derives is said to be one in which a Palauan coconut-syrup maker had relations with his wife's sister. |
|
> Like the octopus, able to change the color of its body. He's too erratic or too easily persuaded. A leader, or any person, who is highly erratic, too adaptive; one who appears capable of taking any convenient or easy position. |
