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> It's like taking a shower at Tellei's bath, when somebody takes a shower, you shiver from the cold. Someone's actions makes you embarrassed. |
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> Like the blowgun of Ngiraeuekelebid. Derived from a humorous and (in Palauan) phonetically funny verse: Eveninga pproachest,h e womenr eturnf rom the gardens. The koranges tree is swaying and the women, looking up, see Ngiraeuekelebid. Confuseda nd embarrassedh,e climbsd own and picks up his blow gun. His plan foiled. "All the men of the village use the blowgun in the mountains. Only Ngiraeuekelebidu ses his in the gardens. Surely, if he uses it in the gardens, he will hit the bull's eye in the crotch." Men are permitted in the taro gardens but only for some special purpose and by leave of the women who may be working there in the deep mud in minimal attire, sometimes with their grass skirts put aside. (Today they work in very old clothes.) Ngiraeuekelebid, leaving the village with his blowgun as though going hunting, climbed a koranges tree overlooking the gardens to spy on the women and was caught. A poor decision or plan that in the end proves embarrassing. |
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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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> Like the oar of Ngerechemai, breaking on the down stroke A rapid stroke technique in rowing, originated at Ngerechemai in northern Palau, consists of dipping the paddle deep with a strong, rapid stroke and bringing it forward with a smooth flip. The technique gives the appearance of considerable ease, while the canoe obtains great speed. The coxswain desiring more speed of his men may shout at them: "Besos Lechemai!" ("Oars Ngerechemai!"). The secret of the success of Ngerechemai racing canoes was not known until observers noted that the oarsmen frequently broke their paddles on the swift downstroke. Thus, when the secret of a successful leader-the leadership technique or magic that he uses-is revealed, this idiom may be applied. |
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> He's like the road in Ngerebodel (which doesn't go anywhere in particular) i.e. he's expanding a lot of effort but not getting anywhere. There was once, in the hamlet of Ngerebodl (in Koror, central Palau), reputedly a very fine boulder path which began and ended nowhere in particular. The idiom may describe a person who seems to be working hard toward no apparent objective |
