arı – oraq, beri – çalğı
/arɯ – oraq, beri – tʃalʁɯ/
Literal translation
a sickle that way, a scythe this way
Intended meaning
Said of a two-faced, insincere person who cannot be relied on, saying one thing to one side and the opposite to the other.
- Men jaratılğanlı da açıq sözlüme. Arı – oraq, beri – çalğı qaydan bolayım?"I have been plain-spoken since the day I was born. How could I be a sickle one way and a scythe the other?"
- Qorqağıbız – tuwğanından qorqaq. Birle arı – çalğı, beri – oraq.The coward among us was a coward from birth. Some are a scythe one way and a sickle the other.
Variants
- arı oraq, beri qayraq
- arı qayraq, beri bilew
- arı – çalğı, beri – oraq
Sources
Show sources
- Къарачай-малкъар тилни фразеология ангылатма сёзлюгю (2017), p. 54
- Малкъар тилни школ фразеология сёзлюгю (1994), PDF page 28