Khodha Pahaad Nikla Chuha

# 96

March 28, 2021

Today’s Hindi proverb (कहावत) is:

खोदा पहाड़, निकला चुहा

(Transliteration: Khodha pahaad, nikla chuha.)

Literal translation: (We) dug (through a) mountain, (and) out came (just a) mouse.

Figurative meaning: To pursue something or investigate with great expectations, but in the end achieve almost nothing. Wasted effort on futile outcome.

Mouse from a mountain

Usage in a sample sentence:
पुलिस ने एक लंबी खोज के बाद जॉन को गिरफ्तार किया और उसके मोबाइल फोन डेटा के हजारों पृष्ठों का विश्लेषण किया, लेकिन जॉन निर्दोष निकला। खोदा पहाड़, निकला चूहा।

(Transliteration: Police ne ek lambi khoj ke baad John ko girafthaar kiya aur usske mobile phone data ke hajaron prashton ka vishleshan kiya, lekin John nirdosh nikla. Khodha pahad, nikla chuha.)

Translation: After a long search the police arrested John and analyzed thousands of pages of his mobile phone data, but John turned out to be innocent. (They dug through a mountain and out came just a mouse) Their efforts were wasted on this futile outcome.

Origins of the proverb: The origin of this proverb could be traced to Aesop’s fables (The Mountain in Labor). We usually describe any arduous work as a load of work, or a pile of work, or a “mountain” of work. In the ancient times, people would have dug through a mountain in the search of a dangerous animal or a giant snake, but in the end if they found only a mouse, they feel their effort in digging through the mountain was wasted. So, when people perform some difficult tasks and get no result or negligible result, then they use this proverb to describe their frustrating situation. We can say it in Greek, English or Hindi, but this timeless concept remains the same across all languages.

Raee Ka Pahad Banana

62

February 8, 2021

Today’s Hindi idiom (मुहावरा) is:

राई का पहाड़ बनाना।

(Transliteration: Raee ka pahad banana.)

Literal translation: To make a mountain of a mustard seed.

Making a mountain out of a molehill

Figurative meaning: To over-react and exaggerate the impact of a minor situation by distorting it disproportionately and making it appear much bigger than it actually is. (Very similar to the English idiom, “To make a mountain of a mole-hill.”)

Usage in a sample sentence:

टीवी न्यूज एंकर्स को राई का पहाड़ बनाने की आदत है। वे हर एक खबर को सनसनीखेज बनाना चाहते हैं।

Transliteration:  TV new anchors ko raee ka pahaad banane ki aadat hai. Ve har ek khabar ko sansanikhej banana chahate hain.

Translation:  
TV news anchors have a habit of making a mountain of a mustard-seed. They want to sensationalize every bit of news.

Origins of the idiom: A mountain is huge in comparison to a mole hill. Some people are in the habit of exaggerating the impact of every minor thing in their life. They distort their narration to make it appear that the situation was much more severe than it actually was. They may have seen a tiny mustard seed, but in their narration, they describe it to be as big as a mountain!