రాను రాను గూని గుర్రం గాడిదయ్యిందట

ranu ranu guni gurram gadidayyindata

Translation

As time went on, the hunchbacked horse turned into a donkey.

Meaning

This expression is used to describe a situation that gradually deteriorates or degrades over time instead of improving. It is often applied to projects, reputations, or quality that starts with some promise (even if flawed) but ends up becoming something much worse or inferior.

Related Phrases

The donkey that went to the city bit the donkey that went to the village.

This proverb is used to mock people who return from a big city or a prestigious position and act superior or arrogant toward those who stayed in their hometown or humble roots. It highlights the empty vanity of someone who feels elevated by their environment despite their basic nature remaining the same.

While the horse was eating boiled grains, the donkey got a stomach ache.

This proverb is used to describe someone who feels jealous or envious of another person's success or good fortune, even when it has nothing to do with them. It mocks the irrational pain or resentment felt by observers when someone else is enjoying a benefit.

Thinking that poetry is grass, all the donkeys started grazing on it.

This expression is used to criticize people who lack taste or intelligence yet try to consume or critique high art or intellectual work. It implies that when something refined (like poetry) is treated as a common commodity, unqualified people (metaphorically called donkeys) will rush to ruin or disrespect it without understanding its true value.

A hard field and donkey's milk

This proverb is used to describe a situation that is completely useless or yields no benefit despite hard work. Just as a hard, barren field produces no crop and a donkey's milk is generally not consumed, it refers to a wasted effort or a lost cause where the resources and results are both worthless.

The donkey barked instead of the dog

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone incompetent or unqualified tries to perform a task belonging to an expert, leading to failure or a ridiculous outcome. It highlights the mismatch between a person's abilities and the role they are trying to fulfill.

The braying donkey spoiled the grazing donkey.

This proverb describes a situation where someone who is minding their own business and working productively is distracted or ruined by the foolish actions of another. It is used when a person's good progress is halted because they joined company with someone loud, lazy, or troublesome.

Will a donkey foal be born in the womb of a horse?

This proverb is used to emphasize that one's nature, quality, or lineage is determined by their origins. It suggests that greatness cannot come from a low source, or more commonly, that a person will inherit the traits of their parents or environment. It is often used to question how something inferior or vastly different could come from a specific source.

As he grew and grew, the elder brother-in-law became a Guttam donkey, they say.

This proverb is used to describe a person who, despite getting older or gaining more experience, becomes more foolish, stubborn, or useless instead of gaining wisdom. It highlights a situation where someone's growth is inversely proportional to their maturity or intelligence.

Treating a horse and a donkey as the same.

This expression is used to describe a situation where no distinction is made between excellence and mediocrity, or between something valuable and something worthless. It highlights a lack of judgment or fairness when a person of great merit is treated the same as someone with none.

Upon constant observation, the relative turned into a donkey; there is no deity left un-worshipped.

This proverb is used to describe a situation where someone has exhausted all possible options or prayers to solve a problem, yet the situation has deteriorated or revealed its true, unpleasant nature. It highlights the irony of putting in immense effort or faith only to be met with a disappointing or absurd outcome.