一哭二闹三上吊
yī kū èr nào sān shàng diào
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1 to make a terrible scene (idiom)
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2 to throw a tantrum
一条绳上的蚂蚱
yī tiáo shéng shàng de mà zha
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1 lit. grasshoppers tied together with a piece of string (idiom)
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2 fig. people who are in it together for better or worse
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3 people who will sink or swim together
一瓶子不响,半瓶子晃荡
yī píng zi bù xiǎng , bàn píng zi huàng dang
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1 lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom)
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2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
三天不打,上房揭瓦
sān tiān bù dǎ , shàng fáng jiē wǎ
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1 three days without a beating, and a child will scale the roof to rip the tiles (idiom)
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2 spare the rod, spoil the child
上一次当,学一次乖
shàng yī cì dàng , xué yī cì guāi
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1 to take sth as a lesson for next time (idiom)
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2 once bitten, twice shy
上下其手
shàng xià qí shǒu
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1 to raise and lower one's hand (idiom); to signal as conspiratorial hint
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2 fig. conspiring to defraud
上不了台面
shàng bù liǎo tái miàn
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1 better kept under the table (idiom)
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2 not to be disclosed
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3 too inferior to show in public
上不得台盘
shàng bù dé tái pán
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1 too uncouth to appear in public (idiom)
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2 unfit for a public role
上天入地
shàng tiān rù dì
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1 lit. to go up to heaven or down to Hades (idiom)
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2 fig. to go to great lengths
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3 to search heaven and earth
上天无路,入地无门
shàng tiān wú lù , rù dì wú mén
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1 lit. there is no road to the sky, nor door into the earth (idiom)
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2 fig. to be at the end of one's rope
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3 to be trapped in a hopeless situation
上有天堂,下有苏杭
shàng yǒu tiān táng , xià yǒu Sū Háng
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1 lit. there is heaven above, and there is 蘇杭|苏杭[Sū Háng] below (idiom)
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2 fig. the beauty and affluence of Suzhou and Hangzhou is comparable with heaven
上有政策,下有对策
shàng yǒu zhèng cè , xià yǒu duì cè
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1 The higher ups have policies while the lower downs have their own ways of getting around them. (idiom)
上有老下有小
shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo
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1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
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2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
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3 sandwich generation
上梁不正下梁歪
shàng liáng bù zhèng xià liáng wāi
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1 lit. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked (idiom); fig. subordinates imitate their superiors' vices
上气不接下气
shàng qì bù jiē xià qì
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1 out of breath (idiom)
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2 to gasp for air
上行下效
shàng xíng xià xiào
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1 subordinates follow the example of their superiors (idiom)
上贼船
shàng zéi chuán
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1 lit. to board a pirate ship (idiom)
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2 fig. to associate with criminals
不入虎穴,焉得虎子
bù rù hǔ xué , yān dé hǔ zǐ
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1 How do you catch the tiger cub without entering the tiger's lair? (idiom); Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
不要在一棵树上吊死
bù yào zài yī kē shù shàng diào sǐ
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1 don't insist on only taking one road to Rome (idiom)
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2 there's more than one way to skin a cat
不见兔子不撒鹰
bù jiàn tù zi bù sā yīng
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1 you don't release the hawk until you've seen the hare (idiom)
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2 one doesn't act without some incentive