aurukōwhao
1. (noun) leakage from the lashing holes of the rauawa of a canoe.
Ehara i te aurukōwhao, he takerehāia (TTT 1/2/1922:13). / It is not a leak at the top-strake lashing but an open rent in the bottom of the canoe. (A whakataukī saying that the misfortune is not a minor one but a major catastrophe.)
2. (noun) minor damage, nothing major - a figurative use.
Mate i te tamaiti, he aurukōwhao; mate i te wahine, he takerehaia (TP 11/1908:7). / The death of a child is a minor matter; the death of a woman is a catastrophe. (A whakataukī likening the death of a child to a leak in the lashing hole of canoe and contrasting it with the death of a woman being likened to a split in the hull of a canoe.)
