yīn​tiān​dǎ​hái​zi

[xiehouyu] idle anyway

阴天打孩子 陰天打孩子 yīn​tiān​dǎ​hái​zi
[xiehouyu] idle anyway
A two-part allegorical saying (歇后语 xiē​hòu​yǔ) meaning "to have nothing better to do" or "might as well keep busy". The full phrase is "beating the kids on a cloudy day—might as well keep busy"; it originates from the idea of poor laborers who, unable to work outdoors due to rain, would take out their boredom and frustration on their children.