人心不足蛇吞象
rén xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng
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1 a man who is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant (idiom)
合眼摸象
hé yǎn mō xiàng
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1 to touch an elephant with closed eyes (idiom); to proceed blindly
抽丝剥茧
chōu sī bāo jiǎn
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1 lit. to spin silk from cocoons
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2 fig. to make a painstaking investigation (idiom)
狗嘴里吐不出象牙
gǒu zuǐ li tǔ bù chū xiàng yá
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1 no ivory comes from the mouth of a dog (idiom)
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2 no good words are to be expected from a scoundrel
病来如山倒,病去如抽丝
bìng lái rú shān dǎo , bìng qù rú chōu sī
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1 sickness comes like a landslide, but goes slowly like spinning silk (idiom); expect to convalesce slowly
盲人摸象
máng rén mō xiàng
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1 blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經|大般涅盘经[dà bān Niè pán jīng]); fig. unable to see the big picture
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2 to mistake the part for the whole
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3 unable to see the wood for the trees
众盲摸象
zhòng máng mō xiàng
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1 multitude of blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經|大般涅盘经[dà bān Niè pán jīng]); fig. unable to see the big picture
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2 to mistake the part for the whole
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3 unable to see the wood for the trees
瞎子摸象
xiā zi mō xiàng
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1 blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經|大般涅盘经[dà bān Niè pán jīng]); fig. unable to see the big picture
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2 to mistake the part for the whole
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3 unable to see the wood for the trees
短中抽长
duǎn zhōng chōu cháng
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1 to make the best of a bad job
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2 to make the best use of limited resources (idiom)
万象更新
wàn xiàng gēng xīn
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1 (in the spring) nature takes on a new look (idiom)
险象环生
xiǎn xiàng huán shēng
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1 dangers spring up all around (idiom); surrounded by perils