ditelan mati emak, diluah mati bapak

Malay

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Etymology

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Literally "swallowed by mother's death, spitted by father's death", meaning if the person's parents were perished, one would suffer in a difficult situation, because no one will take care or provide the needs of their children, the result is that children who lost their parents would affect their future.

Prepositional phrase

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ditelan mati emak, diluah mati bapak

  1. (idiomatic) between a rock and a hard place, to have the wolf by the ear