|
> One for whom the door of words was not closed. When the secrets of a clan or a profession were being taught by an expert, the house was completely closed and instruction took place in strict, whispered secrecy. the idiom may be applied to a person who, while having the proper status to be knowledgeable, has never learned in closed session; an important but uninformed person. Conversely, an expert or knowledgeable clan his torian is one who "has had the door closed" (mleng a simer). |
|
> Water is without cost. Palauans bathe frequently; many will not miss a daily bath if at all possible. Bathing places are usually widened areas, natural or artificial (some elaborately paved with stone) in fresh-water streams. The phrase simply reminds another, probably a reluctant child, that he should bathe. |
|
> Our nose is close (to the mouth), but cannot be licked. i.e. we shouldn't be too sure of, or overconfident in, ourselves. The nose is very close to the mouth, but, no matter how reassuringly available, it cannot be licked by the tongue. The idiom cautions those who are careless with their possessions to be less assured about wealth. |
|
> You're like a floating log without a resting place. You have no fixed abode. |
|
> It's like the way they eat in Ngeraus (where food is scarce): as soon as they get to like or enjoy the food, it's gone. Just as something becomes popular, it becomes unavailable. Ngerraus is a small village in Ngchesar (central Palau). The idiom suggests a person who begins to feel hungry just as the food runs out. The reference is to the meager food resources of a small village. In contemporary Palau the idiom may be applied to some popular import that soon disappears from the shelves of the stores. |
