waha o te parata
1. (noun) brink of disaster, path to destruction, jaws of death – a metaphor referring to the near disaster of the Te Arawa canoe caught in a whirlpool in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Takahuri haere atu ana taua tokorua ki tahaki. Heoi rā, ka ora te tangata, ka hoki ake i te waha o te parata (TWM 11/7/1863:4). / That pair rolled over the bank. However, the man survived and returned from the jaws of death.
Synonyms: korokoro o te parata
korokoro o te parata
1. (noun) brink of disaster, path to destruction – a metaphor referring to the near disaster of the Te Arawa canoe caught in a whirlpool in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Ka nui te kōrero whakahē a ētahi tāngata mō te moumou o ngā moni e whakapaua nei ki tēnei whenua, me te kī a ētahi kua heke anō te waka o Te Arawa ki te korokoro o te parata i tēnei pāmu (TTT 1/6/1927:602). / There is much criticism by some people about the money being wasted on this land, and some are saying that the Te Arawa canoe is again on the brink of disaster with this farm.
Synonyms: waha o te parata
