బడాయి గాలికిపోతే, గుడ్డు నేలకు ఆనిందట

badayi galikipote, guddu nelaku anindata

Translation

When boasting went with the wind, the egg touched the ground.

Meaning

This proverb is used to mock someone who makes grand, empty boasts but fails when it comes to basic reality or performance. It implies that once the pretentious talk (the wind) disappears, the person's true, humble, or ineffective status is revealed. It is often used to describe people who talk big but have nothing to show for it.

Related Phrases

Why thump a stone? Why should your hand be pained? Why bring trouble on your own head?

This proverb is used to advise against engaging in futile or self-destructive actions. It suggests that picking a fight with someone much stronger or attempting an impossible task will only result in self-inflicted harm, so it is better to avoid such unnecessary conflicts.

Bandar's boastfulness, Guntur's pugnacity

This proverb characterizes the cultural traits traditionally associated with two Andhra cities: Bandar (Machilipatnam) and Guntur. It suggests that people from Bandar are known for their grand talk, style, or vanity (badayi), whereas people from Guntur are known for their hot-tempered, confrontational, or argumentative nature (ladayi). It is used to humorously generalize the temperaments of individuals based on their origin from these regions.

He's not worth his food, and is a burden on the earth.

This expression is used to describe a person who is extremely lazy or useless. It implies that the person does no productive work, making the food they consume a waste and their presence on earth a literal weight without any contribution.

He is not worth his salt.

The rain's boasting is over alkaline soil, and the husband's boasting is over his wife.

This proverb is used to describe someone who shows off their power or authority only over those who are weak or unable to resist. Just as rain makes a big impact on barren alkaline soil (where it serves no productive purpose) but is insignificant elsewhere, some men display their dominance only over their wives because they cannot exert influence in the outside world.

They say a dove laid an egg in the place that was just cleaned and smeared with cow dung.

This proverb is used to describe someone who takes advantage of others' hard work or expects results immediately after a task is completed. It refers to a situation where a person tries to claim a spot or benefit from a space right after someone else has put in the effort to prepare it, or more commonly, it mocks someone who expects a result to happen instantly in a newly prepared environment.

Like a thrown stone flying away with the wind

This expression is used to describe an outcome that was achieved purely by chance or luck rather than by skill or intentional effort. It suggests that a success happened accidentally, similar to a heavy stone being carried off by a breeze.

The boasting of a man without money is the boasting of an incompetent man.

This expression is used to mock someone who brags or talks big despite lacking the financial means or the actual capability to back up their claims. It suggests that empty boasting by someone without resources is meaningless and ineffective.

When a widow fired the gun, the bullet supposedly flew away into the wind.

This is a sarcastic expression used to dismiss someone's failure by blaming their inherent bad luck or incompetence. It suggests that when an unskilled or 'unlucky' person attempts something, even if they do the action correctly, the outcome will inevitably be a failure due to external factors or fate. It is often used to mock excuses made for poor performance.

Even if you scold loudly, it goes away with the wind

This expression is used to signify that harsh words, verbal abuse, or criticisms are intangible and temporary. It suggests that one should not take verbal insults to heart because they do not cause physical harm and eventually vanish, just like sound waves disappearing into the air.

If a heavy grinding stone is blown away by the wind, do we even need to mention the fate of a leaf plate?

This proverb is used to describe a situation where even the strongest or most stable things are failing or being destroyed, making the plight of smaller or weaker things obvious and inevitable. It highlights that if a powerful entity cannot withstand a calamity, a weak entity has no chance at all.