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> Like a squatting bat, hanging but looking down. Bats hang upside down from the tree and may be thought to have an inverted view of things. Refers to a comment or action that is clearly out of line; rarely said of a person who is present, since the implication is that of weak mindedness. |
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> I am sick with sebiil, but what about you? When frambesia (yaws; Palauan: kerrdik) was common in Palau almost everyone had the disease as a child, and commonly the entire body was covered with painful sores. When the infection covered the anal region it was known as sebiil. The saying implies that everyone has had sebiil, a painful and disgusting disease. Hence, "What makes you feel you're so good? |
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> Like the uul [Cettria cantans?] with its house open, calling for rain. The uul may be heard to call out usually just before it rains; some say that it is calling for rain. This seems foolish, since the bird constructs its house with an opening at the top that will let rain in. A person who makes a decision or starts some action without adequate preparation is likened to the uul. |
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> A stone platform, yet food. A man of Airai in central Palau, apparently during a period of hostilities, brought to his home from the lagoon all manner of shell food still attached to coral boulders. In the security of his own yard, he removed the shell foods and eventually with the stones he was able to construct a stone platform for his home. A lot in Airai, supposedly where this platform stood bears the name, Olbed-e-kall. |
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> You pluck the fruit and pick it up; what of us? Why don't you share or let us participate in your activity?/Why are you the only one to laugh at your joke? Usually one person climbs the tree or uses a long stick to knock down the fruit while an assistant shares the task and rewards by catching the falling fruit or picking it up. The saying may be applied to a person who prepares something to eat by himself, then eats it without sharing. It can apply also to a person who laughs at his own joke, leaving his audience unmoved. |
