太歲頭上動土
tài​suì​tóu​shang​dòng​tǔ

to provoke a powerful person

  • created reference approved 太岁头上动土/太歲頭上動土 → 太岁/太歲 (see) — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    太岁头上动土 / 太歲頭上動土 tài​suì​tóu​shang​dòng​tǔ

    太岁 / 太歲 tài​suì

    see

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

    created reference

  • created sense approved 太岁头上动土/太歲頭上動土 · tài​suì​tóu​shang​dòng​tǔ · to provoke a powerful person — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    太岁头上动土 / 太歲頭上動土

    tài​suì​tóu​shang​dòng​tǔ

    to provoke a powerful person

    (idiom) to provoke someone far more powerful; literally 'digging earth over the head of the God of the Year', referring to an ancient superstition that construction in the direction of the planet Jupiter would bring bad luck

    太岁 (literal) → 太岁/太歲 · tài​suì · God of the Year 头上 (literal) → 头上/頭上 · tóu​shang · [range] 动土 (literal) → 动土/動土 · dòng​tǔ · to break ground

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

    created sense