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> Like Kerosene, poling his canoe with no obvious destination Under the German administrator Winkler before World War I, a Palauan named Ngirakerisil (Mr. Kerosene) was employed as a canoe operator. Daily he would take the tireless administrator to a different part of Palau to inspect the various economic programs (largely coconut planting) instituted by the now legendary Winkler. The operator, least of all, could predict where they would be going next. The idiom is applied to any aimless person or action; indecision; a changeable person. |
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> You're getting involved with someone too closely related. Possibly derived from an incident in which a coconut syrup maker was incestuously involved with his wife's sister. |
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> Like the ilaot [coconut juice] of Ngetkib, mixing itself. Probably of folk-tale derivation, the idiom may be applied to a man who has married too close to his own clan, thus not gaining the assistance of the wife's clan in food and services, since this would amount to the clan giving to itself. Also applied to a situation where a person expects to have some service performed for him but ends up doing it himself. |
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> Like the Bilimbi tree which, if not shaken, will not bear fruit. Applied to a person who does not fulfill their obligations without constant prodding or nagging. |
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> You're a flying kite, but i hold the guide string. No matter how much you play around, you always come back to me. |
