సింగన్నా! అద్దంకి పోయినావా? అంటే, పోనూపోయా రానూ వచ్చా అన్నాడట

singanna! addanki poyinava? ante, ponupoya ranu vachcha annadata

Translation

When asked 'Singanna! Did you go to Addanki?', he replied, 'I went and I have already returned'.

Meaning

This proverb describes a situation where someone performs a task in a very mechanical, superficial, or hurried manner without achieving the actual purpose or gaining any benefit from it. It is used to mock people who do things for the sake of finishing them rather than doing them meaningfully.

Related Phrases

A knife that has lost its sharpness, and farming that has missed its season.

This proverb emphasizes the importance of timing and readiness. Just as a blunt knife is useless for cutting, farming becomes futile if the right season or opportunity is missed. It is used to convey that actions must be taken at the appropriate time to be effective.

He came, he stayed, and then he said, 'Grind the finger millets and make porridge'.

This expression describes a person who overstays their welcome and begins to demand things or act as if they are the head of the household despite being a guest. It is used to mock someone who doesn't know when to leave and instead starts imposing their needs on others.

Like returning to see a household that one once built and left.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone who was previously in charge or responsible for a task returns merely as a visitor or observer, often with a sense of nostalgia or to see how things are being managed in their absence. It highlights the transition from a role of active responsibility to one of a detached onlooker.

He came, he went, and then he asked to grind finger millets and make porridge.

This proverb describes someone who is extremely lazy or avoids work when it is actually being done, but reappears just in time to demand the benefits or give orders once the hard part is over. It is used to mock people who contribute nothing to a process but expect to enjoy the results or direct others' labor.

Akkanna went to Addanki and came back.

This expression is used to describe a person who completes a long or significant journey or task without achieving any results or gaining any new information. It signifies a futile effort or a trip that was a waste of time, where someone returns exactly as they left.

Shinganna went to Addanki and he came back.

This proverb describes a person who undertakes a long or difficult task but returns without achieving anything or completing the purpose of the trip. It is used to mock someone's inefficiency, pointlessness of an action, or a wasted effort where the end result is the same as the starting point.

Is it the man's wedding or the woman's wedding? I don't know, but when I was served some food at the stove, I came back to life!

This expression describes a person who is completely indifferent to the purpose or significance of an event and is solely focused on their own basic needs, like food. It is used to mock someone who lacks any intellectual curiosity or social awareness, prioritizing personal comfort or immediate gain above everything else.

One who has gone for palm wine, one whose house is burning, and one who has gone to the toddy trees will not come even if their father dies.

This proverb describes people who are so deeply involved or stuck in specific situations that they cannot be reached or distracted by anything else, even a family tragedy. It highlights the behavior of those who are either too focused on their addictions (toddy/palm wine) or too overwhelmed by their own personal disasters (house burning) to fulfill social or family obligations.

One Lingadu may be gone, but chew well and swallow, he said.

This proverb describes a situation where someone experiences a significant loss or misfortune, yet they continue to focus on trivial or unrelated matters, or offer unsolicited, minor advice in the face of a larger disaster. It is used to mock people who remain stubbornly focused on small details when everything is already ruined.

"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.