పెట్టేపోతలు లేకపోయినా వట్టి కూతలు ఎందుకు?

pettepotalu lekapoyina vatti kutalu enduku?

Translation

Why empty shouts when there are no offerings or deeds?

Meaning

This expression is used to criticize someone who makes big claims, boasts, or gives advice without actually contributing anything tangible or being helpful. It highlights the hypocrisy of people who use loud words but lack action or generosity.

Related Phrases

If you don't learn how to speak, you cannot pass the time (or earn a meal).

This proverb emphasizes the importance of communication and social skills in survival and professional success. It suggests that if one does not know how to converse effectively or persuade others, it becomes difficult to make a living or navigate through daily life.

Why play the wedding band after the marriage is already over?

This proverb is used to point out that it is useless to perform an action or provide a suggestion after the event or opportunity has already passed. It signifies that certain efforts are redundant or unnecessary when the time for them has lapsed.

When honor has gone, why life ?

This expression emphasizes the supreme value of dignity and self-respect over physical life. It is used to convey that for a person of principles, living with disgrace or humiliation is worse than death.

Take away my good name, and take away my life. Either live or die wi' honour.

If you have no common food, [give me] the best; if you have no common cloth, [give me] a silk one.

This is a sarcastic expression used to describe someone who, when they lack basic necessities, demands or expects high-end luxuries instead of seeking practical alternatives. It highlights the irony of having extravagant tastes or unrealistic expectations while being in a state of poverty or deprivation.

Said by an impertinent beggar when refused assistance by a stingy person.

If you put cushions in the sun, will the neck pain go away?

This expression is used to highlight that addressing the symptoms or external factors (drying the pillows) won't solve an internal or more deep-rooted problem (the actual neck pain or underlying injury). It is often used when someone suggests a superficial or irrelevant solution to a serious problem.

Empty shouts without giving and sharing is like a barren tree without flowers or young fruit.

This proverb is used to criticize people who make tall claims, give advice, or talk excessively without actually being generous or helpful. Just as a tree that produces no flowers or fruit is useless despite its size, empty words without meaningful actions or charity are considered worthless in a relationship or society.

Silk clothes even if there is no food

This expression is used to describe a person who prioritizes vanity, status, or external appearance over basic necessities and practical needs. It highlights a scenario where someone spends money on luxuries to look rich or sophisticated while struggling to afford essential items like food.

Once the words are gone, bundles of wealth are of no use.

This proverb emphasizes that once a person has lost their ability to speak or has passed away, material wealth becomes meaningless. It is often used to highlight that good communication and relationships are more valuable than riches, or to suggest that some things cannot be fixed with money once the opportunity for dialogue is lost.

It's not that there are no donors, it's that we don't have the fate written for it.

This proverb is used to express that even when help or resources are available, one may not receive them due to their own poor luck or destiny. It highlights the belief that one's fate (vratha) is the ultimate decider of what they receive, regardless of the generosity of others.

Even if no work is accomplished by mere faith alone, without it, nothing can be done at all.

This expression emphasizes the importance of faith as a prerequisite for success. While faith alone without effort or action might not yield results, it is the foundational motivation required to start or sustain any task. It is used to explain that self-belief or confidence is the starting point for any achievement.