కాడిమేడి కడగాబెట్టి కప్పతో పొయ్యే కాపోడా

kadimedi kadagabetti kappato poyye kapoda

Translation

Oh farmer, who leaves the yoke and plough aside to follow a frog.

Meaning

This expression is used to describe someone who abandons their important responsibilities or main livelihood to pursue trivial, distracting, or useless matters. It highlights the foolishness of losing focus on what truly matters for something insignificant.

Related Phrases

The brass-smith was ruined by drinking with a tilted head.

This proverb is used to describe how people can ruin themselves or their reputation by adopting habits or postures that are inappropriate for their status or the context. It suggests that even a small, improper change in behavior can lead to downfall.

The behavior of frogs in a well

This expression describes the behavior of narrow-minded or jealous people who, like frogs in a well, try to pull down anyone who attempts to climb up or succeed. It is used to characterize small-mindedness and the lack of a broader perspective or community support.

The brazier has spoilt the dish which before I ate out of slantingly ( on account of the hole in it ).

This proverb is used to describe a situation where someone introduces an unnecessary or troublesome innovation to a simple, existing habit, ultimately making it more complicated or ruining it. It refers to a story where people used to drink comfortably, but a metalsmith (brazier) made a vessel that required tilting in an awkward way, spoiling the ease of the act.

* Unns vir nullus vir. † Xelw kexira vniptis, dákntulós te dákntulon. ‡ Candae pilos, equino paulatim oportet evallere.

Like a frog sitting under a cobra's hood

This expression describes a situation where someone is unknowingly or helplessly living in extreme danger. Just as a frog under a snake's hood is oblivious to its imminent death, it refers to a person residing in a precarious position or under the shelter of an enemy who could destroy them at any moment.

Will the one who protected [you] in the womb not protect [you] in due time?

This is an expression of faith and reassurance. It suggests that since God (or nature) protected a person during their most vulnerable stage inside the mother's womb, they will surely be looked after during difficult times in life. It is used to instill hope and patience during periods of crisis or uncertainty.

A donkey's egg and a frog's head

This expression is used to describe something that is non-existent, nonsensical, or a complete waste of time. It refers to a ridiculous or imaginary object that has no value or reality, often used to dismiss someone's foolish claims or a futile outcome.

In unfavorable times, even a frog becomes a ghost.

This proverb is used to describe how when someone's luck is bad or they are going through a period of misfortune, even the smallest, most insignificant problems or people can become major obstacles and cause significant trouble.

Is the sea near to a frog in a well ? Applied to a clumsy fellow.

This proverb is used to describe a person with a narrow perspective or limited knowledge who thinks their small world is everything. It highlights how someone with restricted experience cannot comprehend the vastness or complexity of the real world, much like a frog that believes its well is the entire universe.

When one chooses to do farming with great interest, thieves steal the yoke and the plough.

This proverb describes a situation where someone starts a task or venture with great enthusiasm and careful planning, only to face an immediate, unexpected disaster that ruins everything at the very beginning. It is used to express irony when bad luck strikes right when one is most prepared.

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'.