ChinesePod

1 to use an opponent's own methods to obtain retribution (idiom, from Song dynasty neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi 朱熹); to get revenge by playing sb back at his own game
2 to give sb a taste of his own medicine

以眼还眼

yǐ yǎn huán yǎn

1 an eye for an eye (idiom); fig. to use the enemy's methods against him
2 to give sb a taste of his own medicine

以眼还眼，以牙还牙

yǐ yǎn huán yǎn , yǐ yá huán yá

1 an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth (idiom)
2 fig. to use the enemy's methods against him
3 to give sb a taste of his own medicine

借尸还魂

jiè shī huán hún

1 lit. reincarnated in sb else's body (idiom); fig. a discarded or discredited idea returns in another guise

八字还没一撇

bā zì hái méi yī piě

1 lit. there is not even the first stroke of the character 八 (idiom)
2 fig. things have not even begun to take shape
3 no sign of success yet

Sample Sentences

最近不知道这世界怎么了！美国次贷风暴引发金融危机，雷曼兄弟公司倒闭了，政府出巨资救市，我看也是白搭，关键是人们无力偿还贷款，这无底洞美国政府能填得平吗？

zuìjìn bù zhīdào zhè shìjiè zěnme le ！Měiguó cìdài fēngbào yǐnfā jīnróngwēijī ，léimàn xiōngdì gōngsī dǎobì le ，zhèngfǔ chū jù zī jiùshì ，wǒ kàn yě shì báidā ，guānjiàn shì rénmen wúlì chánghuán dàikuǎn ，zhè wúdǐdòng Měiguózhèngfǔ néng tiándepíng ma ？

I don't know what's wrong with the world lately! The American sub-prime loan meltdown led to the financial crisis, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, the government is laying out a ton of money to save the market-- the way I see it, it's all for naught. The key thing is that people aren't able to pay back their loans. Will the American government be able to fill this bottomless pit?

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