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tlapalli tlilli nictlalia.

Headword: 
tlapalli tlilli nictlalia.
Principal English Translation: 

to set a good example (a metaphor); literally I set down the paint and the ink, the red paint, the black ink (see Molina)

Alonso de Molina: 

tlapalli tlilli nictlalia (pret. tlapalli tlilli onictlali.) dar buen exemplo. metaphora.
Alonso de Molina, Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana y mexicana y castellana, 1571, part 2, Nahuatl to Spanish, f. 130v. col. 2. Thanks to Joe Campbell for providing the transcription.

themes: 
Metaphors, Proverbs, Riddles
Writing, Literacy