created sense approved 牵萝补屋/牽蘿補屋 · qiānluóbǔwū · to be in financial straits — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"
牵萝补屋 / 牽蘿補屋
qiānluóbǔwū
to be in financial straits
To pull vines to patch up the roof, meaning to live in extreme poverty or to find oneself in difficult financial circumstances.
牵 (literal) → 牵/牽 · qiān · to lead 萝 (literal) → 萝/蘿 · luó · vine; trailing plant 补 (literal) → 补/補 · bǔ · to mend 屋 (literal) → 屋 · wū · house
Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition
created sense approved 牵萝补屋/牽蘿補屋 · qiānluóbǔwū · to be of no help — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"
牵萝补屋 / 牽蘿補屋
qiānluóbǔwū
to be of no help
(of a makeshift solution) to be useless or provide no real help in resolving a situation
牵 (literal) → 牵/牽 · qiān · to lead 萝 (literal) → 萝/蘿 · luó · vine; trailing plant 补 (literal) → 补/補 · bǔ · to mend 屋 (literal) → 屋 · wū · house
Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition