గుమ్మడికాయ పోయేదారి తెలియక ఆవగింజకు అల్లాడినట్లు.

gummadikaya poyedari teliyaka avaginjaku alladinatlu.

Translation

Like worrying over a lost mustard seed while being unaware of the lost pumpkin.

Meaning

This proverb describes a person who stresses over trivial, minor losses or details while completely ignoring a much larger, more significant problem or loss. It is used to point out a lack of perspective or misplaced priorities.

Related Phrases

A broad bean seed does not know its own vine.

This proverb is used to describe a person who forgets their origins or humble beginnings after achieving success. Just as a bean grows on a vine but eventually loses its connection or awareness of the plant that supported it, it refers to individuals who become arrogant or ungrateful towards their roots or the people who helped them rise.

A man who saves a mustard seed and thinks a pumpkin worth a shell-coin. Penny wise and pound foolish. They drink their water by measure, but eat their cake without. (Greek.)

This expression describes a person who is 'penny wise and pound foolish.' It refers to someone who is obsessively careful about trivial, tiny matters (the mustard seed) but remains completely negligent or wasteful regarding large, significant things (the pumpkin).

If one owns land the size of a mustard seed, they will face a hole the size of a pumpkin.

This proverb highlights the burdens and complications that come with property ownership. It suggests that even the smallest amount of asset or land brings disproportionately large problems, taxes, or disputes along with it.

She doesn't remember where the pumpkin was lost, but when a mustard seed was lost, she begged and ate.

This proverb describes a person who is extremely careless or indifferent about significant losses but makes a huge fuss over trivial or insignificant things. It is used to mock someone's lack of perspective or misplaced priorities.

Hiding a mustard seed while throwing a pumpkin onto the pile

This expression refers to people who are extremely stingy or careful about small, trivial expenses but reckless or wasteful with large, significant ones. It describes a 'penny wise, pound foolish' mentality where someone tries to save a tiny amount while losing a fortune due to negligence or poor judgment.

One who does not know the way is not a traveler.

This expression emphasizes that true progress or a journey requires a sense of direction or purpose. It is used to suggest that wandering without an aim or knowledge of the path does not make one a purposeful explorer or a successful person in their endeavors.

Like performing an ancestral ritual on the day a pumpkin is found.

This proverb describes someone who is extremely stingy or opportunistic, performing a religious or social obligation only when the necessary materials (in this case, a pumpkin for ritualistic offerings) are obtained for free or by chance, rather than out of genuine devotion or at the proper scheduled time.

He does not know the way the pumpkin goes, but troubles himself to find the way the mustard seed goes.

This proverb describes a person who fails to notice large, significant losses or obvious mistakes (represented by the pumpkin) but spends excessive effort worrying about or analyzing trivial, insignificant matters (represented by the mustard seed). It is equivalent to the English idiom 'Penny wise, pound foolish'.

Like a mustard seed in a pumpkin

This expression is used to describe a situation where the work accomplished or the progress made is insignificantly small compared to the magnitude of the task remaining. It highlights a vast disproportion between what was intended or required and what was actually achieved.

A tiny seed's worth of luck is better than a pumpkin's worth of intelligence

This proverb highlights that even immense intelligence or talent can sometimes be overshadowed by a small amount of good fortune. It is used to describe situations where hard work and wisdom fail to achieve what a lucky break manages to accomplish instantly.