捉襟见肘
zhuō​jīn​jiàn​zhǒu

to be overextended

  • created sense approved 捉襟见肘/捉襟見肘 · zhuō​jīn​jiàn​zhǒu · to be overextended — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    捉襟见肘 / 捉襟見肘

    zhuō​jīn​jiàn​zhǒu

    to be overextended

    lit. pulling down the lapels exposes the elbows; originally describing clothing so ragged that one's elbows show, now used to describe being strapped for cash or overwhelmed with more problems than one can handle

    zhuō​jīn​xiàn​zhǒu

    捉 (literal) → 捉 · zhuō · to grasp 襟 (literal) → 襟 · jīn · lapel 见 (literal) → 见/見 · xiàn · to appear 肘 (literal) → 肘 · zhǒu · elbow

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

    created sense