 大海捞针 – 无处寻 Fish for a needle in the ocean – one can find it nowhere; be next to impossible 杀鸡用牛刀 – 小题大做 Use a butcher's knife or cleaver to kill a chicken – break a butterfly on the wheel; use a hammer to swat a fly 草船借箭 – 满载而归 To borrow arrows with thatched boats (It refers to an interesting story back to the Three Kingdoms period in ancient China.) – come back with fruitful results; have a rewarding experience 门缝里看人 – 把人看扁了 Look at somebody through a door crack – belittle somebody 瓮中捉鳖 – 手到拿来 Catch a turtle in a jar – go after an easy prey; be sure of success; be a walkover 东郭先生救狼 – 好心不得好报 Master Dongguo, the foolish, soft-hearted scholar, had helped to hide a wolf from a hunter, but then narrowly escaped being eaten by it. – One gets no thanks for his/her good intentions; kind-heartedness may not be met with good recompense. 老太太的裹脚布 – 又臭又长 An old lady's foot-bindings are long as well as smelly. (Foot binding was a custom practiced on young girls and women in feudal China.) – Something, written or said, is long-winded. 瞎猫碰上死耗子 – （碰）巧了 A blind cat stumbled on a dead rat. – by sheer luck |
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