ChinesePod

1 lit. to penetrate into a bull's horn (idiom); fig. to waste time on an insoluble or insignificant problem
2 to bash one's head against a brick wall
3 a wild goose chase
4 a blind alley
5 to split hairs

Sample Sentences

请到旁边来，我现在打开包包确认，你看清楚。好，这里有一把小剪刀，你应该知道尖锐物品是不能带上飞机的吧，这把剪刀看你是要托运还是要丢弃。

qǐng dào pángbiān lái ，wǒ xiànzài dǎkāi bāobāo quèrèn ，nǐ kàn qīngchu 。hǎo ，zhèlǐ yǒu yī bǎ xiǎo jiǎndāo ，nǐ yīnggāi zhīdào jiānruì wùpǐn shì bùnéng dàishàng fēijī de ba ，zhè bǎ jiǎndāo kàn nǐ shì yào tuōyùn háishi yào diūqì 。

Please come to the side. I’m going to open your bag to confirm, please watch carefully. OK, there are scissors here, you must know that you can’t take sharp objects on to aircrafts. You can either put it in your check luggage or throw away this pair of scissors.

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也许影片的内容很尖锐，但我并不是要指责谁，只是，作为一个纪录片工作者，我必须指出事实，必须指出难看的真相。

yěxǔ yǐngpiàn de nèiróng hěn jiānruì ，dàn wǒ bìng búshì yào zhǐzé shéi ，zhǐshì ，zuòwéi yí ge jìlù piàn gōngzuòzhě ，wǒ bìxū zhǐchū shìshí ，bìxū zhǐchū nánkàn de zhēnxiàng 。

The content of the film is quite edgy, but I was not trying to criticize anyone. It's just, as a documentary maker, I have to point out the reality, to point out the ugly truths.

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这问题有点儿尖锐。不过比起南方人来，北方人的性格直爽豪放，火气大一些。历史上的猛将大都出自北方。

zhè wèntí yǒudiǎnr jiānruì 。bùguò bǐqǐ nánfāngrén lái ，běifāngrén de xìnggé zhíshuǎng háofàng ，huǒqì dà yīxiē 。lìshǐ shàng de měngjiàng dà dōu chūzì běifāng 。

That question is a bit pointed. But compared with southerners, northerners' personalities are more straightforward and frank, with more of a temper. Most of our history's great generals came out of the north.

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哟，你这问题可够尖锐的，让我觉得有弦外之音啊！吃醋嘛，要看是镇江香醋还是山西老陈醋，是苹果醋还是梅子醋，还要看是做糖醋排骨还是西湖醋鱼，还得讲究......

yō ，nǐ zhè wèntí kě gòu jiānruì de ，ràng wǒ juéde yǒu xiánwàizhīyīn a ！chīcù ma ，yào kàn shì Zhènjiāng xiāngcù hái shì Shānxī lǎochéncù ，shì píngguǒ cù hái shì méizǐ cù ，háiyàokàn shì zuò tángcùpáigǔ hái shì xīhúcùyú ，hái děi jiǎngjiu ......

Oh, that's a sharp question! I feel like you're implying something! Vinegar...well, that depends whether it's aged Zhenjiang vinegar, or rice vinegar from Shanxi, if it's apple vinegar or plum vinegar, and then you have to see whether you're making sweet-and-sour pork or West Lake-style fish. And then you have to look at--

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嗯，我也看过几篇他们的文章。虽然言词尖锐，但是也挺幽默的，怪不得浏览率这么高。我觉得读他们的文章像在照镜子。虽然是一面哈哈镜，但也反映出了一些我们平时不怎么关注的问题。其实他们说的都是我们中国人自己看来习以为常的事，但是往往毛病、陋习就出在这里面。

ng4 ，wǒ yě kàn guo jǐ piān tāmen de wénzhāng 。suīrán yáncí jiānruì ，dànshì yě tǐng yōumò de ，guàibudé liúlǎn lǜ zhème gāo 。wǒ juéde dú tāmen de wénzhāng xiàng zài zhàojìngzi 。suīrán shì yímiàn hāhājìng ，dàn yě fǎnyìng chū le yīxiē wǒmen píngshí bùzěnme guānzhù de wèntí 。qíshí tāmen shuō de dōu shì wǒmen zhōngguórén zìjǐ kànlai xíyǐwéicháng de shì ，dànshì wǎngwǎng máobìng 、lòuxí jiù chū zài zhè lǐmiàn 。

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