- English translation
The cricket fell for a beetle and went wandering all over town with her, not knowing what to do with himself.
- Literal wording
A cricket fell in love with a beetle; he went round the town with her, bewildered.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying pokes fun at a person who becomes infatuated with something or someone of little worth. The insect pairing is deliberately unglamorous: a lowly grasshopper or cricket, not some other creature, dotes on an equally humble beetle, which makes the passion look absurd.
The second half moves from infatuation to its burdens. Once attached, the lover runs around anxiously trying to please, pamper, and show off the beloved, and ends up flustered by devotion that others find baffling.
- When it is used
Use it teasingly when someone is besotted with a person, object, or pursuit that others consider worthless, yet fusses over it and parades it everywhere. It mocks lavish devotion to something unworthy, so it suits banter or wry commentary, not earnest advice.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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