నేతికుండ నేలబెట్టి వట్టికుండ ఉట్టిమీద పెట్టేవాడు

netikunda nelabetti vattikunda uttimida pettevadu

Translation

A man that puts the pot of ghî on the floor, and the empty pot in the sling. The eye is blind if the mind is absent. ( Italian. )

Meaning

This proverb describes a person who lacks common sense or priority. It refers to someone who neglects valuable things (ghee) while carefully preserving useless things (empty pot), highlighting foolishness or inverted priorities in decision-making.

Related Phrases

While there is butter in the net why hunt through the whole village for ghi ?

This proverb is used to describe a situation where someone searches far and wide for something they already possess or have easy access to at home. It highlights the irony of overlooking immediate resources while desperately seeking them elsewhere.

Seeing the stone pot, the clay pot ran away.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone realizes they are significantly weaker, less durable, or less capable than their opponent and chooses to withdraw to avoid certain destruction. It highlights the vulnerability of the weak (clay) when faced with the unshakable strength of the powerful (stone).

Fencing on a sword

This expression is used to describe a situation that is extremely risky, precarious, or requires great skill and caution to handle without causing a disaster. It is synonymous with 'walking on a tightrope' or 'skating on thin ice'.

Like searching the whole village for ghee while having butter on the hanging shelf

This expression describes a situation where someone searches everywhere for something they already possess or which is right under their nose. It is used to mock the irony of looking for a solution or resource far away when it is easily available at home.

Hit in such a way that the stick doesn't break and the snake doesn't die.

This proverb is used to describe a situation where a problem needs to be solved or a task accomplished without causing any damage or loss to the parties involved. It refers to finding a diplomatic or clever middle ground where the objective is achieved while maintaining perfect balance and avoiding negative consequences.

Burning and rubbing on the ground. Annoying and ill-treating another.

This expression describes someone who is extremely shy, hesitant, or feeling guilty. It refers to the physical habit of dragging or twisting one's toes on the ground when they are too embarrassed to speak or face someone directly.

Like lifting an empty pot onto the sling and placing the ghee pot on the floor.

This proverb describes a person who lacks judgment and priorities. It refers to someone who values useless things while neglecting or mismanaging valuable assets. It is used to point out foolish decisions where one gives importance to the trivial and ignores the essential.

Food on the high-slung basket, sleep on the village.

This expression describes a person who lives a carefree, irresponsible, or nomadic lifestyle without any domestic stability or worries. It refers to someone who eats whenever they find food (stored in an 'Utti' or rope-net basket) and sleeps wherever they happen to be in the village, essentially living without any definite home or plan.

Like water not staying in a leaky pot

This expression refers to something that is transient, unstable, or impossible to preserve. It is used to describe situations where resources, wealth, or secrets are lost quickly due to an inherent flaw or lack of capacity, much like how a broken or unbaked pot cannot hold water for long.

Like a dog touching the pot of cooked food

This expression is used to describe a situation where something pure or useful becomes completely ruined, defiled, or unusable because of the interference of an unworthy or undesirable person. In traditional contexts, if a dog touched a cooking pot, the entire meal was considered polluted and had to be discarded.