Chinese Allegories Lesson 5 fēng chuī qiáng tóu c?o – li?ng biān d?o 风吹墙头草 – 两边倒 The grass on top of a wall blows either way with the wind – someone who sits on the fence will end up going along with the crowd; to sit on the fenced? zhǒng li?n chōng pàng zi – s? yào miàn zi 打肿脸充胖子 – 死要面子 Try to look fat by slapping one's face till it's swollen – to try to look impressive; be keen on face-savingmāo kū hào zi – ji? cí bēi 猫哭耗子 – 假慈悲 A cat crying over a mouse's death – hypocritical show of sorrow or sympathy; shedding crocodile tearsl?o h? zu? li bá yá – zh?o s? 老虎嘴里拔牙 – 找死 Pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth – seeking death; dare the greatest danger; beard the lion in his denjī dàn pèng shí tou – zì bù liàng lì 鸡蛋碰石头 – 自不量力 Like an egg striking a rock – attacking somebody far stronger than oneself; overestimating oneself or one's strength; overrating oneselfji?n le zhī ma diū le xī guā – tān xi?o shī dà 捡了芝麻丢了西瓜 – 贪小失大 Pick up the sesame seeds but overlook the watermelons – covet a little and lose a lot; seek small gains but incur big losses; be penny-wise and pound-foolishméi mao hú zi yī b? zhuā – zh? cì bù fēn 眉毛胡子一把抓 – 主次不分 Try to grasp the eyebrows and the beard all at the same time – try to attend to everything at once irrespective of priority; confuse the primary with the secondarywáng pó mài guā – zì mài zì kuā 王婆卖瓜 – 自卖自夸 Wang Po keeps praising his melons while selling them. – ring one's own bell; blow one's own trumpet
