02-06-2021, 10:08 AM
(02-05-2021, 11:30 PM)cranefly Wrote: More on strategy than trash-talk, but a nice, if overwrought, turn of phrase:
"It is time to call a halt. If we advance now and something goes wrong, it will be a case of 'ruining a perfect picture of a snake by adding paws.'"
I'm going to translate this so from now on.
The original chengyu is Hua she tian zu[b] [/b]画蛇添足 which means literally 'draw snake add legs'. It goes back to a fable from the Warring States period (475-221 BCE) where a master of a house held a drawing contest to see which of his servants would get a jug of wine. The one that finished first got overconfident because he was so quick and added legs, so he lost. It happens.
"HMMPH!" - common grunt said before launching into battle.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse