చేతనైన మగోడు చాలపొద్దున లేచి ఊడ్చుకొని, చల్లుకొని, ఇంకొకచోట పండుకున్నాడట.

chetanaina magodu chalapodduna lechi udchukoni, challukoni, inkokachota pandukunnadata.

Translation

An efficient man supposedly woke up very early, swept the floor, sprinkled water, and then went back to sleep somewhere else.

Meaning

This is a sarcastic Telugu proverb used to mock someone who pretends to be hardworking or efficient but actually achieves nothing productive. It describes a person who performs the preliminary setup or minor chores with great showmanship, only to abandon the main task or go back to being lazy immediately after.

Related Phrases

Wealth in one place, and distrust in another place.

This proverb describes a situation where a person entrusts their money or valuables to someone but continues to be suspicious of them. It is used to highlight the irony of relying on someone for a task while simultaneously lacking faith in their integrity or the safety of the arrangement.

He went to the fair wearing humor and carrying cleverness in his hand.

This proverb is used to describe a person who lacks seriousness or maturity. It refers to someone who treats everything as a joke and relies solely on superficial wit or over-smartness rather than preparation or responsibility when approaching a significant task or event.

Will a fox howl in one place and sing the wedding song of Goddess Gauri in another?

This expression is used to point out that an individual's core nature or character does not change based on the situation or location. Just as a fox is inherently wired to howl and cannot suddenly produce sacred music, a person with bad intentions or a specific habit will behave consistently wherever they go. It is often used to express skepticism about someone's sudden change in behavior or to highlight hypocrisy.

Marriage at one place, heart at another place.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone's formal commitments or physical presence are in one place, while their desires or thoughts are focused somewhere else. It is often used to refer to people who are physically present but mentally or emotionally preoccupied with something or someone else.

The whistle is in one place, and the washerman's ghat is in another.

This proverb is used to describe a situation where there is a complete lack of coordination or connection between two related things. It refers to someone who acts or talks irrelevantly to the context, or when the effort and the result are completely disconnected.

The wound is in one place, while the medicine is applied in another.

This proverb is used to describe a situation where the solution being applied does not address the actual root cause of a problem. It signifies a mismatch between a problem and its remedy, or an irrelevant action taken to solve an issue.

Like having the ocean under one's arm, yet stretching out a hand for a small puddle.

This proverb is used to describe a person who possesses vast resources or great wealth but still begs or seeks help for something insignificant. It highlights the irony of not realizing or utilizing one's own immense potential and instead looking for petty external assistance.

Holding butter in the palm, yet crying for ghee.

This expression describes a situation where someone overlooks a solution or resource they already possess while desperately searching for it elsewhere. It is used to point out the foolishness of not realizing that the goal is already within reach, as butter is the source of ghee.

The washing ghat is in one place, while the work song is in another.

This proverb is used to describe a situation where there is a lack of coordination or a total disconnect between two related things. It refers to someone doing something completely irrelevant to the task at hand or being out of sync with the environment and purpose.

All the honey is in one place, while the entire honeycomb is in another place.

This expression describes a situation where resources, people, or components that belong together are completely separated or disorganized. It is used to point out a lack of coordination or a mismatch where the essence of something is disconnected from its structure.