ProverbPedia

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഓലക്കണ്ണിപ്പാമ്പുകൊണ്ടു പേടിപ്പിക്കേണ്ടാ”
— English Translation:
Do not try to frighten me with a serpent woven from dry palm fronds. (Senseless bluffs and paper tigers will not intimidate someone who knows the truth.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഒറ്റാലിൽ വീണതതുമില്ല, കോർമ്പലെൽ കോർത്തതുമില്ല”
— English Translation:
Neither trapped in the basket net nor speared on the fishing prong. (Slipping through every snare; evading all efforts at containment.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഓടുരുക്കിയ മൂശാരിയെപോലെ”
— English Translation:
Like the bronze smith who melted down bell metal only to ruin the casting. (Laboring at great expense and risk, only to end up with a worthless puddle of dross.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഒറ്റെക്കു ഉലക്ക, കാക്കാൻ പോയൊൻ കൂക്കട്ടെ”
— English Translation:
A pestle left all alone; let the negligent guard howl in dismay. (Those who neglect their responsibilities have only themselves to blame when loss strikes.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഓടം മാടായ്ക്കു പോകുമ്പോൾ ഓലക്കെട്ടു വേറെ പോകേണമൊ”
— English Translation:
When the ferryboat is already sailing to Madai, does a bundle of palm leaves need separate passage? (When a major conveyance is already bound for a destination, piggybacking small errands costs nothing.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഒലിപ്പിൽ കുഴിച്ചിട്ട തറിപോലെ”
— English Translation:
Like a stake driven into a raging flash flood. (Hopelessly unstable, violently shaking, and destined to be swept away.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഓടം വണ്ടിയിലും വണ്ടി ഓടത്തിലും”
— English Translation:
At times the boat rides on the cart, and at times the cart rides on the boat. (Life's fortunes rotate; mutual interdependence and shifting circumstances eventually reverse roles.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഒല്ലിയിൽ തോറ്റതു കോണിയിൽ എടുക്ക”
— English Translation:
Trying to win back at the ladder what was lost upon the blanket. (Attempting to compensate for a massive defeat by grasping at petty gains in an unrelated corner.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഒല്ലി = പുതപ്പു; ഒളിച്ചു വയറ്റിൽ ഉണ്ടാകും, വെളിച്ചത്തുപെറും”
— English Translation:
Conceived in dark secrecy, but delivered in the open light. (Gloss notes that "Olli" means a blanket or covering; hidden misdeeds cannot stay concealed forever, as their consequences eventually emerge before the world.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഒഴക്കിനകത്തൊ കിഴക്കുമേക്കു”
— English Translation:
Searching for the four cardinal directions inside a quarter-pint cup? (Overanalyzing petty minutiae or looking for vast complexity where none exists.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഒഴുകുന്ന തോണിക്കു ഒരുന്തു”
— English Translation:
Giving a push to a boat that is already drifting with the stream. (Easily accelerating what is already in motion; or adding an extra blow to someone already falling.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഒരുവീട്ടിൽനിന്നു ഒരുവീട്ടിൽമാറിയാൽ ആറുമാസത്തെപഞ്ഞം”
— English Translation:
Shifting from one house to another brings six months of disruption and scarcity. (Frequent relocations drain resources and disturb domestic stability.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഒഴുക്കുപോകുന്നെടത്തോളമെ അഴുക്കും പോകു”
— English Translation:
The filth travels only as far as the current carries it. (Corruption spreads only as far as its enabling influence reaches; once the flow ceases, the sediment settles.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഒരുവീട്ടിൽ രണ്ടുപെണ്ണം ഒരുകൂട്ടിൽ രണ്ടുനരിയും ഒരുപോലെ”
— English Translation:
Two rival mistresses in one house are like two leopards in a single cage. (Conflicting authorities under one roof lead to inevitable, vicious strife.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഒഴുക്കു നീറ്റിൽ അഴുക്കില്ല”
— English Translation:
In moving waters, there is no stagnant filth. (Constant industry, movement, and transparency keep character, mind, and institutions clean and vital.)

“Malayalam Proverb:
ഒരു വെടിക്ക് രണ്ടുപക്ഷി”
— English Translation:
Two birds with a single shot. (Accomplishing two distinct objectives through a single action.)