ChinesePod

1 lit. if you have to use force to break a melon off the vine, it won't taste sweet (because it's only when the melon is ripe that it can be removed with just a slight twist) (idiom)
2 fig. if sth is not meant to be, it's no use trying to force it to happen

扭转乾坤

niǔ zhuǎn qián kūn

1 lit. to upend heaven and earth (idiom)
2 fig. to change the course of events
3 to turn things around

Sample Sentences

是的！鼠是“鼠来宝”、牛是“扭转乾坤”、虎是“虎虎生风”、兔是“扬眉吐气”、龙是“飞龙在天“、蛇呢，又叫小龙，不妨祝人“金蛇出洞”、”绝不折本“。

shì de ！shǔ shì “shǔláibǎo ”、niú shì “niǔzhuǎn qián kūn ”、hǔ shì “hǔhǔ shēng fēng ”、tù shì “yángméi tǔ qì ”、lóng shì “fēilóng zài tiān “、shé ne ，yòu jiào Xiǎo Lóng ，bùfáng zhù rén “jīn shé chū dòng ”、”juébù shé běn “。

Yes indeed! They say “The rat brings treasure” for the Year of the Rat; they substitute the 「扭」 in the phrase 「扭转乾坤」, meaning “to turn things around for oneself,” for its homophone 「牛」, meaning ox in the Year of the Ox; they use the phrase “formidable and majestic like a tiger” in the Year of the Tiger; they substitute the 「吐」 in the phrase 「扬眉吐气」, meaning “to breathe a sigh of relief,” for its near homophone 「兔」, meaning rabbit, in the Year of the Rabbit; they use the phrase “the flying dragon is in the sky,” as a New Year greeting in the Year of the Dragon; they often call the Year of the Snake, the Year of the Little Dragon, to allow “the golden snake to emerge from the hole,” and they substitute the 「折」 in the phrase 「絕不折本」, meaning “to make every effort not to neglect the fundamentals,” for its near homophone 「蛇」, meaning snake, in the Year of the Snake.

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那是他们不理解撒娇的精髓。你把我的精辟见解跟他们说说，绝对能把他们的思想扭转过来。

nà shì tā men bù lǐjiě sājiāo de jīngsuǐ 。nǐ bǎ wǒ de jīngpì jiànjiě gēn tā men shuōshuo ，juéduì néng bǎ tā men de sīxiǎng niǔzhuǎn guòlai 。

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