- English translation
I married her off to be rid of her, and back she came with her husband in tow.
- Literal wording
I married her off so she would move far away; she went off and brought back the other one.
- Meaning and lesson
The speaker, a parent who arranged a daughter's marriage, hoped she would live elsewhere and no longer need supporting. Instead she comes back bringing 'the other one', her new husband, so the household now feeds two mouths where it once fed one.
Applied more widely, it fits any step taken to be free of a burden that ends up enlarging it. The hoped-for relief never arrives; the old problem stays and acquires a companion.
- When it is used
Say it when an effort to shed a responsibility or expense has instead multiplied it, such as a solution that drags in fresh costs. It suits wry, sympathetic grumbling rather than formal discussion.
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- Colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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