一炮打响
yī pào dǎ xiǎng
-
1 to win instant success (idiom)
-
2 to start off successfully
一网打尽
yī wǎng dǎ jìn
-
1 lit. to catch everything in the one net (idiom)
-
2 fig. to scoop up the whole lot
-
3 to capture them all in one go
三天不打,上房揭瓦
sān tiān bù dǎ , shàng fáng jiē wǎ
-
1 three days without a beating, and a child will scale the roof to rip the tiles (idiom)
-
2 spare the rod, spoil the child
不打不成器
bù dǎ bù chéng qì
-
1 spare the rod and spoil the child (idiom)
不打不成才
bù dǎ bù chéng cái
-
1 spare the rod and spoil the child (idiom)
不打不成相识
bù dǎ bù chéng xiāng shí
-
1 don't fight, won't make friends (idiom); an exchange of blows may lead to friendship
不打不相识
bù dǎ bù xiāng shí
-
1 lit. don't fight, won't make friends (idiom); an exchange of blows may lead to friendship
-
2 no discord, no concord
干打雷,不下雨
gān dǎ léi , bù xià yǔ
-
1 all thunder but no rain (idiom)
-
2 a lot of noise but no action
以身作则
yǐ shēn zuò zé
-
1 to set an example (idiom); to serve as a model
作威作福
zuò wēi zuò fú
-
1 tyrannical abuse (idiom); riding roughshod over people
作茧自缚
zuò jiǎn zì fù
-
1 to spin a cocoon around oneself (idiom); enmeshed in a trap of one's own devising
-
2 hoist by his own petard
作鸟兽散
zuò niǎo shòu sàn
-
1 lit. scatter like birds and beasts (idiom)
-
2 fig. to head off in various directions
-
3 to flee helter-skelter
俾夜作昼
bǐ yè zuò zhòu
-
1 lit. to make night as day (idiom); fig. to burn the midnight oil
-
2 work especially hard
俾昼作夜
bǐ zhòu zuò yè
-
1 to make day as night (idiom, from Book of Songs); fig. to prolong one's pleasure regardless of the hour
倒打一耙
dào dǎ yī pá
-
1 lit. to strike with a muckrake (idiom), cf Pigsy 豬八戒|猪八戒 in Journey to the West 西遊記|西游记; fig. to counterattack
-
2 to make bogus accusations (against one's victim)
前门打虎,后门打狼
qián mén dǎ hǔ , hòu mén dǎ láng
-
1 to beat a tiger from the front door, only to have a wolf come in at the back (idiom); fig. facing one problem after another
包打天下
bāo dǎ tiān xià
-
1 to run everything (idiom); to monopolize the whole business
-
2 not allow anyone else to have a look in
卑躬屈膝
bēi gōng qū xī
-
1 to bow and bend the knee (idiom); fawning
-
2 bending and scraping to curry favor
呼牛作马
hū niú zuò mǎ
-
1 to call sth a cow or a horse (idiom); it doesn't matter what you call it
-
2 Insult me if you want, I don't care what you call me.
和尚打伞,无法无天
hé shang dǎ sǎn , wú fǎ wú tiān
-
1 lit. like a monk holding an umbrella — no hair, no sky (idiom) (punning on 髮|发[fà] vs 法[fǎ])
-
2 fig. defying the law and the principles of heaven
-
3 lawless