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Shona Definition
Kana munhu akasvika pakutambudzika chaizvo anobva aita rema. Anoedza kuita zvimwe zvinosekesa, zvisingambofi zvakaitika achivavarira kuzvibatsira.
English Translation
Someone pushed to the edge by suffering starts behaving senselessly, grasping at laughable measures that could never work. Desperation drives people to absurd and impossible attempts at self-help.
Cultural Context
“Said either to excuse or to rebuke a person who tries something hopeless while in deep trouble.”
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This is a variant of
Indemo hadzo dzeane nyota / asi mvura haikokotwiThe book presents this as a hopeless mismatch for someone suffering from thirst: water cannot be gathered up by scraping at it with a finger.