Àjàjà ṣoge àparò, abàyà kelú.
Character, appearance and the judgement of others
Original
Àjàjà ṣoge àparò, abàyà kelú.
Word-for-word gloss
- Àjàjà uncharacteristically ṣoge dressed-up àparò partridge, abàyà kelú with-chest thrust-out.
Idiomatic English
"The uncharacteristically spruced-up partridge swells its chest."
Di source no name any translator.
Wetin e mean
Newly acquired finery produces exaggerated display.
When dem dey use am
Owomoyela: "The nouveau riche always goes to extremes in consumption"
Notes on di translation
Abàyà kelú is an epithet of the form used in oríkì praise poetry, so the proverb mimics praise while delivering mockery. That double register, praise-form carrying ridicule, is a standard Yorùbá device and is completely lost in translation.