Witty sayings dictionary

Author: Chief Editor: Ma Qingwen et al
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-10-01
Features: Excerpts:
【The Kingdom of Adou - Given Away Free】Adou was the childhood name of Liu Shan, the last ruler of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period. He was incompetent and weak, leading to the downfall of Shu Han and his capture. He showed no sorrow for the loss of his kingdom and had no intention of restoring it, as if he had "gave away his kingdom for free."
【Adou Eating Noodles - Blindly Grabbing】Adou refers to an ordinary foolish person. When eating noodles, they do not follow the normal method but instead blindly grab at them.
【Grandma Cooking Tang Yuan, Grandpa Sailing a Boat - Coming from Soup, Going into Water】Grandma and Grandpa refer to a family or several generations of a family. Cooking tang yuan means coming from soup, and sailing a boat means going into water. "Coming from soup, going into water" implies returning to where one came from, with a slightly derogatory tone.
【Blind Man Watching Shadow Play - Wasting Money】Adai refers to a blind person. Shadow play is a simple device where pictures are placed in a box and viewed through a magnifying glass. In the past, some street vendors made a living by performing shadow plays. Since blind people cannot see, watching such a shadow play is naturally "wasting money." Its spending money in vain.
【Short Person on Stilts - Suddenly Much Taller】Walking on stilts involves attaching wooden sticks to one's legs to make them longer, a common form of entertainment in Chinese folk culture. A short person on stilts appears much taller. Its a sudden increase in height.
【Short Person on Stilts - Making Up for Shortcomings】Stilt walking is a form of folk dance where footrests are attached to two wooden sticks, and performers walk and perform various actions while standing on the stilts. A short person on stilts looks much taller. Its learning from others' strengths to compensate for one's own weaknesses.
【Short Person Flying a Kite - Not High Off the Ground】Kites are generally launched from the hands, and since short people are short, they naturally "don't launch high." However, "launching" also refers to the skill shown when starting a task. In this joke, "launching" actually means this. Its having low competence in doing things.
【Short Person Walking Behind a Tall Person - Taking More Steps】A tall person's step is longer than a short person's. Therefore, to keep up with a tall person, a short person must take more steps. In other words, if one is less capable than others, one must work harder to not fall behind.
【Short Person Watching a Play - Saying Yes When Others Say Yes】In rural areas, plays are often performed outdoors on makeshift stages, with the audience standing in front of the stage to watch. A short person standing in the front row cannot see the performance on stage and simply agrees with others, mainly mocking those who blindly follow the crowd.
【Choosing a General from Short People - Picking the Best Among the Worst】Generals are usually chosen from tall and strong individuals. Choosing from short people can only mean selecting the tallest among them, which is essentially trying to pick the best or mocking that even though it is a selection, it is not very outstanding.
【Short Person Leaning on a Wall - Wanting to Stand Out】A short person leaning on a wall has their neck higher than the wall. Its wanting to stand out from the crowd.
【Short Person Climbing Stairs - Climbing Up Step by Step】This often refers to a person's official position becoming higher, their status improving, or their situation gradually getting better.
【Short Person Climbing Stairs - Longing for It】In the past, some stairs were essentially ladders, with larger gaps between each step compared to modern staircases. Climbing such a ladder was difficult for short people, hence the saying "longing for it." However, "longing for it" also means "very eager for it" or "desperate for it." The actual meaning of this joke is "desperate for it." For example, in Chapter 6 of "He Di," it says: "Who knew that those women, just because they wanted to eat wild food, had to come out to burn incense and chant prayers; suddenly, a fat and smart young man came to eat them, truly 'short person climbing stairs - longing for it.' Naturally, they immediately embraced and kissed."
【Short Person Riding a Big Horse - Difficulty Going Up and Down】A big horse has high legs, making the stirrup also high. A short person, with short legs, finds it difficult to both get on and off the horse, essentially meaning being in a difficult situation. It's hard to do anything right.
【Short Person Going into a River - Heart Overwhelmed】A short person going into a river quickly finds the water reaching their chest, hence the saying "heart overwhelmed." Here, "overwhelmed" is a homophone for "settled," meaning "settled in their mind" or "made up their mind."
【X-Ray Scanning People - Seeing Through You】X-ray, or X-ray radiation, has strong penetration ability, and doctors use it to examine internal ailments. "Seeing through you" actually means "completely understanding your intentions" or "fully knowing your motives."
【Quail's Tail - Not Long】Literally, it says that a quail's tail is short, but it actually refers to the shortness or temporary nature of something.
【Meat on a Cutting Board - At the mercy of others】It means being manipulated or controlled by others, unable to resist at all, like meat placed on a cutting board.
【Forcing a Cow to Drink Water - Impossible】If a cow does not want to drink, forcing its head down to make it drink will naturally not work. Its impossible tasks.
【Pushing a Gourd, the Ladle Rises - Unable to Focus on Both Ends】Both gourds and ladles float on water. Pushing one makes the other rise, and pushing the other makes the first rise again, so it is "focusing on one end, unable to focus on the other." Its being unable to attend to both matters at once.
【Picking Seeds from a Gourd - One Picked, One Less】Picking seeds from a gourd is difficult, but if one works carefully, picking one seed will reduce the number by one, and eventually all seeds can be picked. Its that as long as one works diligently, bit by bit, one can eventually complete and do well at the task.
【Holding the Bell Button Down - Always Ringing (Thinking)] A bell mechanism generally activates when pressed, connecting the power and making the bell ring. Releasing the hand, the power disconnects, and the bell stops ringing. If one does not release the hand, continuously pressing it will make the bell "always ring." "Ringing" is a homophone for "thinking," meaning "always thinking," i.e., constantly coming up with ideas.