చెరుకు పిప్పికి ఈగలు మూగినట్లు.

cheruku pippiki igalu muginatlu.

Translation

Like flies swarming over sugarcane pulp.

Meaning

This expression is used to describe a situation where people gather around something that is useless, worthless, or has already been drained of its value. It highlights the futility of chasing after remains or leftovers that offer no real benefit.

Related Phrases

For one seer a seer and a quarter. A greater ruffian than another. To a rogue a rogue and a half. (French.)

This expression is used to describe a situation where one person meets their match or encounters someone even more capable, clever, or aggressive than themselves. It is equivalent to the English proverb 'Diamond cuts diamond' or 'To meet one's match.'

Like birds flocking to a small pool of water.

This expression is used to describe a situation where people naturally gravitate towards a source of profit, help, or abundance. Just as birds gather at a 'chelama' (a small pit of water dug in a dried-up riverbed) during dry times, people flock to those who have wealth or resources.

For a seer, a seer and a quarter.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone meets their match or encounters someone even more capable, cunning, or stronger than themselves. It implies that for every expert, there is always someone better.

For Ellamma who swallowed elephants, corpses are like pepper seeds.

This proverb is used to describe a person who has committed massive frauds or handled enormous tasks, for whom smaller wrongdoings or minor challenges are trivial. It signifies that someone who has dealt with something huge will find small things insignificant or easy to handle.

Like drinking ghee to quench thirst.

This expression refers to a remedy that makes the original problem worse. Just as drinking fatty clarified butter (ghee) increases thirst instead of quenching it like water, it describes taking an action that is counterproductive or aggravates a difficult situation.

Flies are the proof of a jaggery-making furnace.

This proverb means that where there is a source of benefit or sweetness, people (or seekers) will naturally gravitate towards it. It is used to describe how a person's success, wealth, or influence is easily identified by the crowd of followers or sycophants surrounding them.

Like ants swarming around sugarcane waste

This proverb is used to describe a situation where people gather or flock around something that is essentially useless, valueless, or has already been exhausted of its essence. It implies a waste of effort or misplaced interest in something that no longer offers any real benefit.

Like an elephant entering a sugarcane field

This expression describes a situation where someone causes total chaos or massive destruction, often by being reckless, overly powerful, or out of control. It is used when an individual or an entity ruins something valuable or organized in a short amount of time through unrestrained actions.

Like asking for wages to chew sugarcane

This expression describes a situation where someone asks for a reward or compensation for doing something that is already beneficial, pleasurable, or personally advantageous to them. It highlights the irony of demanding payment for an activity that is its own reward.

Like eating the sugarcane along with its roots just because it is sweet.

This proverb describes greed or over-exploitation. It is used to caution someone who, out of liking or benefit, tries to consume or exhaust a resource completely without leaving anything for sustenance or the future, eventually ruining the source itself.