kom
/ko
, pro.you (nonemphatic, plural).
ko
a
ko
ko
mo
er
ker
e
ko
mla
Examples:
> This is the first time you've been here in ages.
> We sort of became a little bit worried.
> Droteo has the idea that Toki is a little crazy.
> He's very good at climbing./He's always beating around the bush.
> He's quiet and motionless (like a carved doll).
Proverbs:
> It's like the rat of Ngerard, which eats up all your coconuts and (then) all of ours.
It's a decision, plan etc. that will backfire. A pet rat owned by Mad, chief of Ngaraard, ate the coconuts of most of the chief's neighbors, then, still hungry, ate the chief's own coconuts.
> Like a man circumcised, insufficient skin.
Circumcision seems to have been known in Palau prior to contact, perhaps through contact with the Philippines, but was not widely practiced. As in this context, it usually draws attention in the form of ridicule. The idiom applies to any circumstance in which there has been insufficient preparation or planning; a premature decision.
> Like the name of the bai at Chol: "Empty."
A bai in the northern community of Chol is (or once was) called Medederiik, meaning "deserted" or "empty." The idiom may apply to a person without possessions, a poor man.
> Like the honey bee, celebrating without first boiling down the coconut syrup.
Once coconut syrup, dripping from the cut flower stem, is collected it is thickened by boiling. The honeybee, however, collects his nectar, puts it in the hive without boiling it, then proceeds to fly around noisily as though celebrating the completed task. Hence, to talk or boast loudly about successes and accomplishments when one has none; to make plans but never carry them out; to celebrate without cause.
> Like an old woman who is cautious about coughing and breaking wind.
Among elderly women, it seems, coughing sometimes produces the unwanted effect of breaking wind. The idiom may be applied to any action that might produce an undesirable side effect, such as a hasty decision at a political meeting. As a caution, it suggests the need for leaders to consider all the consequences.
More Examples:
> You all take turns bailing the boat so that it will be finished quickly.
> You are like the clam of bengall, never moves an inch but always adored.
> You are young and idiotic.
> Do as you say, so everyone can see you are smart as you talk.
> Do you still remember when you were young?

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