మట్టి గుర్రాన్ని నమ్మి ఏట్లో దిగినట్లు

matti gurranni nammi etlo diginatlu

Translation

Going into a river upon a mud horse.

Meaning

This proverb describes a situation where someone relies on something unreliable or deceptive, leading to inevitable failure or disaster. Just as a horse made of mud will dissolve and collapse when it enters water, trusting a weak or false promise will leave a person helpless in a crisis. It is used to warn against placing trust in superficial strengths or incompetent people.

Notes

Relying upon a man who pretends to have influence.

Related Phrases

Like trusting a water bubble and stepping into a river

This proverb is used to describe a situation where someone takes a huge risk based on unreliable, fragile, or temporary support. Just as a water bubble bursts instantly and cannot support a person's weight in a river, relying on weak promises or unstable resources will lead to failure or danger.

Like trusting a leaky raft and entering a river.

This proverb describes a situation where someone relies on a faulty, weak, or unreliable person or thing to complete a difficult task. It highlights the foolishness of placing one's trust in something that is certain to fail, leading to inevitable disaster.

An ass is an ass, a horse is a horse.

This expression is used to emphasize that things or people have inherent qualities that cannot be equated. It highlights that no matter how much one tries to compare two things of different nature or caliber, they will always remain distinct in their value or utility. It is often used to remind someone that a lesser person or object cannot replace a superior one.

Trusting to his corpulency and throwing himself into the river.

This expression refers to a person who relies on their own physical bulk or misguided confidence to solve a problem, only to face disaster. It is used to describe someone who acts foolishly without a proper plan or valid tools, believing their size or ego alone will save them from a dangerous situation.

The grandmother and the horse were one. A man and his grandmother started on a journey, the former riding, the latter on foot ; the grandson rested frequently on the road and eventually only reached his destination just as his grandmother had completed her journey. The tortoise and the hare.

This expression is used to describe a situation where two completely mismatched or incompatible things are forcefully combined, or when someone expects two contradictory results at once. It highlights the impossibility or absurdity of a specific demand or outcome.

Horse behaves (runs) to suit (the ability of) the rider.

The worker in any setup works as directed/controlled by the master. If the master/manager is incompetent/lenient, there will be no discipline and the entire setup will be disorganized.

Like stepping into a river trusting a buttermilk curd (foam) as a solid rock.

This expression is used to describe a person who makes a dangerous or foolish decision based on a deceptive appearance or unreliable support. Just as foam on buttermilk looks solid but cannot support any weight, some situations or people may seem trustworthy but will fail when relied upon.

Trusting to the cloud, he cut open the tank. Prematurely giving up what you have, in the hopes of getting more.

This proverb describes the foolishness of discarding a reliable, existing resource in anticipation of a potential future gain that hasn't materialized yet. It refers to a person who, seeing rain clouds, breaks the local reservoir (lake) bank to make room for new water, only to end up with no water if the clouds pass without raining. It is used to warn against being over-optimistic or abandoning certainties for uncertainties.

Even when the elephant lies down he is as high as the horse.

This expression is used to describe a person of great stature, wealth, or talent who remains superior or significant even during their lowest points or downfall. It suggests that a person's inherent greatness or previous high status still commands respect and is incomparable to the peak level of an ordinary person.

A man much superior to another.

How can a dog which has eaten a horse live ?

This proverb is used to describe a situation where someone takes on a task far beyond their capacity or consumes resources they cannot digest. It implies that over-ambition or greed leading to actions beyond one's strength or status will eventually lead to one's downfall or destruction.