వట్టింటికి పోచిళ్లు చల్లినట్టు.

vattintiki pochillu challinattu.

Translation

Like sprinkling grains of rice over an empty house. Pôchillu is a superstitious rite in which a man having thrown grains of rice on a neighbour's house, listens for any words he can overhear, and elicits a meaning from them. A profitless proceeding.

Meaning

This expression refers to a futile or waste of effort where the outcome is negligible or disappears immediately. Just as sprinkling a little water on a bone-dry, parched floor is absorbed instantly without making a lasting difference, it is used when someone's help or investment is too small to solve a massive problem.

Related Phrases

Like pouring hot water on a raw, peeled wound.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone's suffering is aggravated by further misfortune or harsh words. It is similar to the English idiom 'to rub salt in the wound.' It refers to making a painful situation even more unbearable through insensitive actions or additional problems.

Every house has an earthen fire-place.

This proverb means that certain problems, weaknesses, or secrets are universal and exist in every household or for every person, regardless of how they appear on the outside. It is used to convey that one is not alone in their struggles and that human nature or domestic issues are the same everywhere.

Every man has his faults.

Like money fallen in the middle of a river returning to the middle of the house

This proverb is used to describe a situation where something thought to be lost forever is unexpectedly recovered or returned. It signifies a stroke of immense good luck or a miraculous recovery of resources that were considered a total loss.

Like pouring hot water on a burning fire.

This expression is used to describe an action that makes a bad situation even worse or intensifies an already heated conflict. It is similar to the English idiom 'adding fuel to the fire,' though it specifically uses the imagery of hot water being ineffective or aggravating to a flame.

If one cannot jump to the hanging pot, can she fly to heaven?

This proverb is used to mock someone who fails at a simple, basic task but makes grand claims about achieving something much more difficult or impossible. It highlights the gap between one's actual abilities and their lofty ambitions.

Like scattering parched grains in an empty house.

This proverb is used to describe an action that is completely useless or produces no result. Parched grains (pochillu) are meant to be eaten; scattering them in an empty, uninhabited house is a waste of resources and effort, as there is no one there to benefit from it.

No man is useless.

This expression is used to emphasize the dignity, value, and resilience of a human being. It suggests that a person should not be treated as something trivial, disposable, or easily crushed like a blade of grass. It is often used to assert one's self-respect or when reminding others to treat someone with the importance they deserve.

Like going to a wedding while carrying a cat under one's arm.

This expression describes a situation where someone brings along an unnecessary burden or a nuisance while trying to perform an important task. It refers to people who create their own obstacles or distractions that make a simple or celebratory event difficult for themselves and others.

Tying up water in a bundle. He draws water with a sieve.

This expression is used to describe a futile, impossible, or extremely difficult task. Just as it is impossible to pack or tie water into a bundle with a cloth, this phrase refers to situations where efforts are wasted on something that cannot be contained, managed, or achieved.

Like sprinkling chili powder on a wound.

This expression is used to describe a situation where someone adds insult to injury or makes a painful situation even worse with their actions or words. It is the Telugu equivalent of 'rubbing salt in the wound'.