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> Like the kingfisher, chattering while taking to wing. The kingfisher, a restless, bullying bluebird, may be heard to chatter loudly when flying up from the ground or from a perch. The saying applies to one who suddenly spouts instructions to a group, then leaves, or to a leader at a meeting who impatiently interrupts a discussion with a burst of pronouncements, then ends the meeting. |
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> Like the green tree snake with a forked tongue (or simply, "Forked"). One who reverses himself, has two tongues, or whose tongue is forked like a snake. |
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> Like a squatting bat, hanging but looking down. Bats hang upside down from the tree and may be thought to have an inverted view of things. Refers to a comment or action that is clearly out of line; rarely said of a person who is present, since the implication is that of weak mindedness. |
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> Like coconut syrup. A general reference to incestuous relations. That this is a recent idiom, probably first used during the period of Japanese administration, is suggested by the Japanese word "ameyu," used in Palau to mean coconut syrup. The incident from which the idiom derives is said to be one in which a Palauan coconut-syrup maker had relations with his wife's sister. |
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> Like Tangerekoi The tangerekoi is a portion of the rafters of a club or community hall that serves as a shelf (rekoi). It is also the name of a demigod ranking with several figures who are mentioned in the origin legends. The idiom refers to the multiple functions of the tangerekoi (even as rafters, or shelf), as resembling the work of a woman's world. When a person is already busy and is asked to take on another task, he may say: "Who do you think I am, Tangerekoi? |
