సంతకు పోయి వచ్చిన ముఖం

santaku poyi vachchina mukham

Translation

A face that looks like it just returned from a weekly market

Meaning

This expression is used to describe someone who looks extremely exhausted, weary, or dull after a long, tiring activity or a chaotic event. Just as a person returning from a crowded, dusty, and loud village market (santa) looks drained of energy, this phrase highlights a person's physical or mental fatigue.

Related Phrases

The farmer who went for seed, returned after the harvest.

This expression refers to someone who takes an excessively long time to complete a simple task, returning only when the work is already finished or when the timing is no longer relevant. It is used to mock extreme procrastination or laziness.

Applied to a slow coach.

If one says "O life! I died by mistake, come back," will the life return?

This proverb is used to convey that certain actions are irreversible. Just as life cannot return once it has left the body—regardless of whether the death was accidental or intentional—certain mistakes cannot be undone, and lost opportunities or broken trust cannot be restored simply by wishing for them.

The reputation gained will not leave even after death

This expression emphasizes that once a person earns a certain reputation—whether good or bad—it stays with them for life and remains even after they pass away. It is often used to remind someone that their actions have long-lasting consequences on their legacy.

Like a face that has returned from a religious fair (Tirunalla)

This expression is used to describe someone who looks extremely exhausted, weary, or unkempt. Religious fairs in India are traditionally crowded, dusty, and physically draining; therefore, a person returning from one would look tired and drained of energy.

Going to Mekka and bringing back dog's dirt.

This expression is used to describe a person who goes on a great or sacred journey (or takes on a significant opportunity) but returns with something worthless or engages in something trivial and disgraceful. It highlights the irony of wasting a valuable opportunity or a holy pilgrimage by focusing on or bringing back something foul.

Have you come to eat or to visit the shrine ?

This expression is used to question a person's priorities or motives when they seem more interested in superficial benefits (like food) rather than the primary purpose or spiritual significance of an event (like receiving holy water at a temple). It is often used to chide someone who is distracted by secondary perks.

Like one who bows to the feet leaving, and one who grabs the throat arriving.

This proverb describes a situation where a manageable or respectful problem is replaced by a much more aggressive, dangerous, or life-threatening one. It is used when a situation goes from being mild or submissive to being hostile and suffocating.

"Śinganna, Śinganna, have you been to Addanki?" they asked. "I have been and come back" he replied. Śinganna was a simpleton who having heard that he was to be sent on an errand to Addanki, went off in the night without having received his message.

This expression is used to describe someone who gives a redundant, obvious, or meaningless answer to a simple question. It satirizes people who state the obvious as if they are providing significant information, or those who perform a task without achieving any real purpose or results.

Like a person who went to fetch medicine returning in time for the monthly funeral rites.

This proverb is used to describe someone who is extremely slow or procrastinates to a ridiculous extent. It depicts a situation where a person sent to get life-saving medicine for a patient returns so late that the patient has already died and it is time for the 'Masikam' (a ritual performed one month after death).

Calumny is not removed even by death.

This expression is used to describe a deeply ingrained habit, trait, or skill that stays with a person throughout their lifetime. It suggests that once something is learned or becomes part of a person's nature, it is nearly impossible to change or get rid of it.

Slander leaves a slur. Give a dog an ill name, and you may as well hang him.