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Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

arero kau

1. (intransitive verb) to pay lip service.

Ko tō tātou āhua e pēnei ana, ko te whakahē ki te hoko a te Kāwanatanga kei te arero kau, ko ngā ringaringa e hiahia noa ana ki te kaute i ngā moni mō tōna whenua (TWMNT 21/3/1876:73). / Our nature is that with our tongues only we condemn the purchases by the Government, while our hands itch to count the money we receive in payment for the land.

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2. (noun) empty words, mere words, one who throws around empty words.

He arero kau, he nui te kōrero, ko te mahi ia, korekore nei (HJ 2017:18). / He’s one who throws around empty words, but there’s no action.

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