చెప్పులు నెత్తినబెట్టి స్వర్గగోపురమంటాడు

cheppulu nettinabetti svargagopuramantadu

Translation

He puts his sandals on his head and claims he is touching the gateway to heaven.

Meaning

This expression is used to describe a person who behaves foolishly or commits lowly acts while making grand, pretentious claims about their status or achievements. It highlights the irony of someone who is in a degraded state but imagines or boasts that they have reached the pinnacle of success.

Related Phrases

Like beating a shaven head with a cocoanut. As used to be done to a Sannyâsi ( religious mendicant ) by his disciples when he was about to die.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone is being extremely harsh, blunt, or unkind to a vulnerable person. It signifies a lack of empathy or a direct, painful impact on someone who has no protection against the action.

Counting Pisces and Aries

This expression refers to a person who is indecisive or procrastinating. It describes the act of unnecessarily delaying a decision or action by over-analyzing minor details, similar to someone idly staring at the stars and counting zodiac signs instead of focusing on the task at hand.

Like hitting someone with a slipper and then placing a 'shathagopam' on their head.

This proverb describes a situation where someone insults or humiliates another person and then immediately tries to cover it up with a superficial act of honor or blessing. It is used to point out hypocrisy or a fake display of respect after causing harm.

Like hitting someone with a slipper and then placing a Shatagopam on their head.

This proverb describes a situation where someone performs a deeply insulting or harmful act and then follows it with a mock gesture of respect or a superficial blessing. It is used to characterize hypocrisy or a deceptive attempt to cover up a grave insult with a hollow holy gesture.

Burning and rubbing on the ground. Annoying and ill-treating another.

This expression describes someone who is extremely shy, hesitant, or feeling guilty. It refers to the physical habit of dragging or twisting one's toes on the ground when they are too embarrassed to speak or face someone directly.

If carried on the hip, it is affection; if carried on the head, it is a nuisance.

This proverb highlights the importance of maintaining boundaries and limits. It suggests that while showing affection or giving support is good, over-indulging someone or giving them too much freedom/authority can lead to them becoming a burden or acting out of place. It is often used to warn against spoiling children or being overly lenient with subordinates.

Like placing butter on the head and tying a waistband made of prawns.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone is being extremely foolish or setting themselves up for a loss. Placing butter on the head (which melts in the sun) and using prawns (which are scavenged by crows and dogs) as a waistband implies that the person's assets or efforts will quickly vanish or be snatched away due to poor planning.

The woman who was asked to cook ended up laying the household men to rest.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone who was brought in to help or perform a simple task ends up causing complete destruction or ruin. It highlights the irony of a person’s incompetence or malicious nature resulting in a disaster far worse than the original problem they were meant to solve.

When asked to feed, they asked to listen.

This proverb is used to describe a person who avoids doing a specific requested task by offering an irrelevant or useless alternative. It highlights an uncooperative attitude where one pretends to help but avoids the actual effort or responsibility required, similar to someone offering words instead of food to a hungry person.

A child born of forced labor was born without a head.

This proverb describes a situation where an outcome or a product is flawed or incomplete because it was done without interest, enthusiasm, or proper compensation (forced labor). It is used to mock work that is done carelessly or results that are useless due to a lack of effort.