i haere Māori atu, i hoki Māori mai
1. I left as a Māori and I have returned as a Māori, task not accomplished, mission unsuccessful - an idiom to say that a mission was not accomplished. An idiom used by Tāwhiao after his unsuccessful trip to England.
Mere: I pēwhea tā koutou whīkoi ki te pāremata ki te tohe i te take rā? Whiri: Heoi anō. I haere Māori atu, i hoki Māori mai (HKKT 2011:12). / Mere: How was your trip to parliament to push our cause? Whiri: So, so. Our mission was unsuccessful.
