下马威
xià​mǎ​wēi

initial show of strength

  • created reference approved 下马威/下馬威 → 下车作威/下車作威 (synonym) — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    下马威 / 下馬威 xià​mǎ​wēi

    下车作威 / 下車作威 xià​chē​zuò​wēi

    synonym

    Changed: source (simp), source (trad), source pinyin, target (simp), target (trad), target pinyin, type

    created reference

  • created sense approved 下马威/下馬威 · xià​mǎ​wēi · initial show of strength — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    下马威 / 下馬威

    xià​mǎ​wēi

    initial show of strength

    A display of severity or power shown immediately upon taking office or at the very start of a conflict to intimidate others and break their spirit.

    下马 (literal) → 下马/下馬 · xià​mǎ · to take office 威 (bound) → 威 · wēi · might

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense