వగలేని మొగుడా పగలెందుకు వచ్చినావంటే, అందుకు కాదులే అగ్గికి వచ్చినా నన్నాడట.

vagaleni moguda pagalenduku vachchinavante, anduku kadule aggiki vachchina nannadata.

Translation

When she asked, 'O husband with no charm, why did you come during the day?', he replied, 'Not for that, I just came for some fire.'

Meaning

This proverb is used to describe a situation where someone tries to hide their true intentions or feelings with a silly or weak excuse after being snubbed or rejected. It highlights awkward attempts to save face when one's presence or actions are questioned.

Related Phrases

Like fire becoming cold.

This expression is used to describe something that is impossible, highly improbable, or contrary to its inherent nature. It is often used to refer to a person who is usually very angry or aggressive suddenly acting calm or gentle, which feels unnatural to their character.

The famine came in the very year that the cultivator came to the village. An unfortunate coincidence.

This proverb describes a situation of extreme bad luck or irony where success and disaster occur simultaneously. It is used when a long-awaited positive outcome or reward is immediately neutralized or ruined by an unexpected calamity, leaving no chance to enjoy the fruits of one's labor.

When asked, 'Why did you come, Ellamma?', she replied, 'Not for that, I just came for some fire.'

This proverb is used to describe someone who tries to hide their true motive or a guilty conscience by giving a trivial, unrelated excuse. It typically refers to a situation where someone is caught in an awkward position or unwanted visit and makes up a weak reason to justify their presence.

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.

When marriage comes, or vomiting, it cannot be stopped.

This proverb is used to indicate that certain events in life are inevitable and beyond human control once they are set in motion. Just as a physical urge like vomiting cannot be suppressed, significant life events like marriage will happen when the time is right, regardless of attempts to delay or stop them.

Any quantity of presents must suffice at a dead man's marriage. When a marriage takes place, presents of cloths are sent to the bride and bridegroom by their relations. Return gifts of about equal value are made shortly after the marriage. Should the bridegroom, however, die during the ceremonies, no presents are returned, and no complaints are therefore made regarding the value of those received.

This expression is used to describe a situation where one should be content with whatever little benefit or payment they receive in a hopeless or lost situation. Since a dead man cannot marry, any dowry received is an unexpected bonus from a failed endeavor.

The time the daughter-in-law arrived, the time the young bulls arrived.

This proverb is used to comment on coincidences, specifically when a new arrival in a family (like a daughter-in-law) is blamed or credited for significant events (like the birth of livestock or changes in fortune) that happen shortly after. It highlights how people often link luck or misfortune to a person's entry into the household.

They cannot control their devotion, nor can they control their enmity.

This expression is used to describe people who are extreme and impulsive in their emotions. Whether they love someone (devotion) or hate someone (enmity), they go to such extremes that it becomes overwhelming or unmanageable for others around them. It highlights a lack of moderation in temperament.

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.