ఇరుగు గుడ్డి, పొరుగు గుడ్డి, ఇంటి ఇల్లాలు గుడ్డి

irugu guddi, porugu guddi, inti illalu guddi

Translation

Neighbor is blind, the other neighbor is blind, and the lady of the house is also blind.

Meaning

This expression is used to describe a situation where everyone involved lacks foresight, awareness, or common sense. It highlights a collective failure or ignorance where no one is capable of providing proper guidance or making a correct judgment.

Related Phrases

If the eye is blind, is the stomach blind too?

This proverb is used to point out that even if one cannot see (either literally or metaphorically through lack of knowledge/resources), their basic needs and appetites remain the same. It is often used in contexts where someone suggests that a person who is disadvantaged should forgo basic necessities like food.

The man who measures [the grain] is blind, and the man who has had it measured is blind also (i.e., the buyer and the seller.) Defects on both sides.

This proverb describes a situation where both parties involved in a transaction or task are ignorant or incompetent. It is used when a leader and their follower (or a seller and a buyer) both lack the necessary knowledge or judgment, inevitably leading to a flawed outcome or mutual deception.

The neighbors are fire and the surroundings are soot (or bad omens).

This proverb is used to describe a situation where one is surrounded by difficult or troublesome neighbors on all sides. It implies that no matter which way you turn, there is conflict or negativity, making it impossible to live in peace.

It is not a neighbor, it is not a surrounding person, and it is not a pot filled with curd.

This is a traditional Telugu riddle or a rhythmic expression used to describe something that seems familiar or close but is actually distinct. It is often used to refer to a mirror or a reflection, where the image looks like someone you know (a neighbor) or is contained in a vessel, but isn't actually that person or object.

If the mistress of the house be blind, all the pots will be broken. Without supervision things will go to ruin. When the gude wife's awa', the keys are tint. (Scotch.)

This proverb highlights the importance of the primary person in charge of a task being capable and attentive. If the person responsible for managing a household (or an organization) is unable to see or manage things properly, it leads to the loss and destruction of the resources under their care. It is used to describe how a lack of supervision or competence in leadership leads to waste and damage.

An iron sickle for the home, a golden knife for the neighbors.

This expression is used to describe a person who is stingy, harsh, or negligent toward their own family and household, while being overly generous, helpful, or displaying a false sense of grandeur to outsiders and neighbors.

Squint is better than blindness

A slightly better position. All pleasures and miseries are relative. When compared with a man with two of his legs amputated, the one with at least one leg is fortunate. It is the positive (optimistic) attitude that matters.

If the lady of the house is blind, it is a loss for the pots in the house.

This proverb highlights that if the person in charge is incompetent, negligent, or lacks vision, it leads to the destruction or wastage of resources. It is used to describe how the lack of proper management or oversight results in avoidable losses within a family, organization, or project.

Sun-turning (Sunflower) and bush-turning.

This expression is used to describe someone who talks in a roundabout way or beats around the bush instead of getting straight to the point. While 'Poddu Tirugudu' refers to the sunflower following the sun, 'Donka Tirugudu' specifically refers to evasive, indirect, or circuitous speech.

Like the neighbor branding themselves after seeing the other neighbor.

This proverb describes the foolishness of blindly imitating others without considering one's own capacity, necessity, or circumstances. It is typically used when someone tries to copy another person's lifestyle or actions out of envy or competition, only to end up hurting themselves.