烧冷灶
shāo​lěng​zào

to burn a cold stove

  • created sense approved 烧冷灶/燒冷灶 · shāo​lěng​zào · to burn a cold stove — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    烧冷灶 / 燒冷灶

    shāo​lěng​zào

    to burn a cold stove

    to invest time, money, or effort into a person or activity that is not currently popular or successful in anticipation of future gain; to pave the way for oneself by supporting someone before they become powerful or famous

    烧, 冷灶

    烧 (literal) → 烧/燒 · shāo · to burn 冷灶 (literal) → 冷灶 · lěng​zào · person out of power

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

    created sense