| 65 | Aia me Milu, kēlā mea i lalo lilo loa. | Is with Milu, that person away down helow. |
| | [Dead. Milu is the god of the underworld.] |
| 101 | ʻĀko Nuʻuanu i ka hālau loa a ka makani; ʻāko Mānoa i ka hale a ke ʻehu. | Gathered in Nuuanu is the longhouse of the wind; gathered in Mānoa is the house of rainy sprays. |
| 174 | ʻAʻohe loa i ka hana a ke aloha. | Distance is ignored by love. |
| 175 | ʻAʻohe loa i ka leo. | A command [of a chief] disregards distance. |
| | [Distance means nothing when the chief gives his command. First said by Hiʻiaka to her sister Kapo in a chant.] |
| 220 | ʻAʻole, ʻaʻole i pau koʻu loa. | No, my height is not reached. |
| | [A remark made when there is a reference to killing by sorcery. While drowning a victim to be offered as a sacrifice, the kahuna who did the drowning held his victim down as he repeated, “No, my height is not reached,” meaning that the water covers only the victim, who was advised to “Moe mālie i ke kai o ko haku’ (“Lie still in the sea of your lord”), meaning “Don’t struggle because you are bound to die.”] |
| 236 | ʻAu i ke kai loa. | Swims the distant seas. |
| | [Said of one who travels afar.] |
| 438 | Hāmākua ʻāina pali loa. | Hāmākua, land of tall cliffs. |
| | [Praise of Hāmākua, Hawaiʻi.] |
| 441 | Hāmākua kihi loa. | Hāmākua with a long corner. |
| | [One corner of Hāmākua touches every district of Hawaiʻi except Puna. Also, a play on kihi loa. A native of Hāmākua is said to avoid meeting strangers. Because of bashfulness or disinclination to share his possessions, he will turn aside (kihi) and go a long way away (loa).] |
| 445 | Hana a ke kama ʻole, hele ʻopeʻope i ke ala loa. | A person who has not raised a child may go along with his bundles on the road. |
| | [Said of an aged person who has no one to care for him. Had he troubled to rear children they could take care of him when he was old.] |
| 476 | Hao kōʻala ka makani lā, pau loa. | With one great sweep of wind, all is gone. |
| 561 | He hālau loa na ʻĪ. | A longhouse belonging to ʻĪ. |
| | [ʻĪ was a wise and generous chief and because he was an ancestor of many, he was referred to as the owner of the longhouse in which all were sheltered. ʻĪ also had a large longhouse in Hilo called ʻĪ-hālau, and a fish station at sea called ʻĪ-koʻa. It is said that when those of ʻĪ-hālau closed their food bowls all at once after eating, the sound could be heard at ʻĪ-koʻa.] |
| 612 | He iʻa no ka moana, he aho loa kū i ke koʻa. | A fish of the deep sea requires a long line that reaches the sea floor. |
| | [In order to obtain a good position, one must prepare.] |
| 725 | He lawaiʻa no ke kai pāpaʻu, he pōkole ke aho; he lawaiʻa no ke kai hohonu he loa ke aho. | A fisherman of the shallow sea uses only a short line; a fisherman of the deep sea has a long line. |
| | [A person whose knowledge is shallow does not have much, but he whose knowledge is great, does.] |
| 844 | He noio ʻaʻe ʻale no ke kai loa. | A noio that treads over the billows of the distant sea. |
| | [An expression of admiration for a person outstanding in wisdom and skill. The noio is a small tern.] |
| 1424 | Ka laʻi loa a Kamaluohua. | The long peace of Kamaluohua. |
| | [Said of the long period of peace enjoyed by this chief of Maui after his retum from Kauaʻi. He and others had accompanied the chief of Hawaiʻi there to make war. They were defeated, but their lives were spared by Kūkona, ruler of Kauaʻi, and they were kindly treated. After a while the defeated chiefs plotted to tum against Kūkona, but Kamaluohua refused to hurt their kind benefactor. As a reward for his loyalty, he and the others were permitted to go home to their respective islands. Kamaluohua spent the rest of his days in peace. The saying was later used to refer to permanent peace after a period of trouble.] |
| 1474 | Ka malu hālau loa o ke kukui. | The long shelter of the kukui trees. |
| | [A kukui grove shelters like a house.] |
| 1622 | Ka ulua kāpapa o ke kai loa. | The powerful ulua of the deep sea. |
| | [A strong warrior. The ulua fish is a strong fighter.] |
| 1695 | Ke hele maila ko Kaʻū; he iho maila ko Palahemo; he hōkake aʻela i Manukā; haele loa akula i Kaleinapueo. | There come those of Kaʻū; those of Palahemo descend; those of Manukā push this way and that; and away they all go to Kaleinapueo. |
| | [Said when one tries to find out something about another and meets with failure at every turn. A play on place names: ʻū (a grunt of contempt) in Kaʻū; hemo (to get away) in Palahemo; kā (to run along like a vine) in Manukā; and leinapueo (owl’s leaping place) in Kaleinapueo.] |
| 1807 | Kīpū loa o Keoni Pulu i ka hoe. | John Bull still holds fast to the oar. |
| | [He is still full and wants nothing more to eat. A play on Pulu, Hawaiianized from the English “full” and “Bull.”] |
| 1916 | Kū loa akula i kulakula. | Stopped way up on dry land. |
| | [Stranded.] |
| 1927 | Kūpihipihi loa kahi koena ʻopihi. | The remaining limpets have dwindled in size. |
| | [A modern saying — the finances have dwindled considerably.] |
| 2008 | Lilo loa me Lāʻielohelohe. | Gone entirely with Lāʻielohelohe. |
| | [A play on lohelohe (droopy). Said of one who droops with intoxication.] |
| 2120 | Malama o kū i ke aʻu, ka iʻa nuku loa o ke kai. | Take heed that you are not jabbed by the swordfish, the long-nosed fish of the sea. |
| | [Do not annoy that fellow, or you will suffer the consequences.] |
| 2148 | Mauna Loa kīkala nui. | Big-sterned Mauna Loa. |
| | [The Mauna Loa was a ship that plied between the islands. This expression is applied in derision to a woman who is large in the rear. Also expressed, Mauna Loa kīkala ʻūpehupehu: Swollen-sterned Mauna Loa.] |
| 2173 | Moe loa ka wahine, nānā wale ke kāne. | When a wife oversleeps, the husband just looks about. |
| | [A lazy wife is no help to her husband.] |
| 2174 | Moe loa ke kāne, nānā wale ka wahine. | When the husband sleeps too much, the wife just looks about. |
| | [A lazy husband does not help his wife.] |
| 2190 | Molale loa nō kumu pali o Kalalau. | Clearly seen is the base of Kalalau cliff. |
| | [It is obvious that one is way off the subject. A play on lalau (to wander, err).] |
| 2291 | Nā puʻe ʻuala ʻīnaʻi o ke ala loa. | The sweet-potato mounds that provide for a long journey. |
| | [Said of a patch of sweet potatoes whose crops are reserved for a voyage or journey.] |
| 2445 | ʻO ka ʻulu iki mai kēia nāna e kaʻa i kahua loa. | This is the small maika stone that rolls over a long field. |
| | [I am a small person who can accomplish much. When Lonoikamakahiki visited Kamalalawalu, ruling chief of Maui, he took along his half-brother Pupukea to serve him. Makakuikalani, half-brother and personal attendant of Kamalalawalu, made fun of the small stature of Pupukea. This saying was Pupukea’s retort.] |
| 2446 | ʻO ka ʻulu o lalo he loaʻa i ka pinana, ʻo ka ʻulu o luna loa he loaʻa i ka lou. | A breadfruit that is low can he reached by climbing, but a breadfruit high above requires a stick to reach it. |
| | [A mate of low station is easy to fmd, but one of higher rank is less easily acquired.] |
| 2466 | ʻOki loa ka ihu kau ʻia e ka nalo. | It is worse to have a fly sit on the nose |
| | [A young woman from Kaʻū was teased about being carried ashore by a sailor who found it hard to resist kissing her. This was her laughing reply — there are worse things than being kissed.] |
| 2520 | ʻOni kalalea ke kū a ka lāʻau loa. | A tall tree stands above the others. |
| | [Said of a person of outstanding achievements.] |
| 2542 | ʻŌʻu ō loa nā manu o Kaupeʻa. | The birds of Kaupeʻa trill and warble. |
| | [Said of the chatter of happy people.] |
| 2569 | Paheʻe loa akula i ka welowelo. | Slipped away — off to flutter in the breeze. |
| | [Said of one who missed by a wide margin, whose aim was very poor.] |
| 2689 | Pō nā maka i ka noe, i ka pahulu i ke ala loa. | The eyes are blinded by the mist that haunts the long trail. |
| | [Said of one who is deceived.] |
| 2733 | Pula kau maka ʻino loa. | A very bad mote in the eye. |
| | [A person who is much disliked. Pula kau maka denotes something that is constantly on oneʻs mind.] |
| 2761 | Pupuʻu hoʻolei loa, a noho ana! | A humping up and a fling, and there he was! |
| | [Said of one who traveled very swiftly — as though he had flung himself through the air.] |