IdiomDaily Life
Turkish
TurkishPabucu dama atılmak
Meaning: To fall out of favor and be cast aside.
Literally: To have one's shoe thrown on the roof
Example: “Yeni telefon çıkınca eskisinin pabucu dama atıldı.” — When the new phone came out, the old one was put out to pasture.
English equivalent: To be put out to pasture
Equivalents in other languages
English: be put out to pasture
Origin: "To have one's shoe thrown on the roof": to fall out of favor, replaced by someone better. The usual explanation is the Ahi guilds of Anatolian craftsmen: a shoemaker found selling faulty shoes had them thrown onto the roof of his shop as a public punishment. The story is widely told, and reenacted at Ahi festivals, but no historical source documents it.
More Turkish idioms
- İğneyle kuyu kazmak To undertake a painfully slow, laborious task.
- Havadan sudan konuşmak To make idle small talk.
- Pireyi deve yapmak To blow something tiny out of all proportion.
- Armudun sapı var, üzümün çöpü var To find fault with absolutely everything.
- Pabuç pahalı Things are getting dangerous; time to be careful.
- İki ayağını bir pabuca sokmak To rush and pressure someone relentlessly.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- Sabır acıdır, meyvesi tatlıdır Waiting is hard, but what it brings is worth it.
- Sabreden derviş muradına ermiş Those who wait patiently get what they want in the end.
- Damlaya damlaya göl olur Small amounts add up to something big over time.
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