📖 Meaning
To pull up someone's vegetables and steal their dates. This idiom refers to petty theft or minor pilfering — the kind of small-scale stealing that involves taking food or trivial items from others' gardens or property.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Tang Dynasty, in a memorial written by the scholar-official Dugu Ji (独孤及) discussing the posthumous title for Lü Yin (吕諲), a Tang chancellor and official. In the text, Dugu Ji praised Lü Yin's governance of the Jiangling region, stating that under his administration, there were no thieves who would stoop to stealing vegetables or dates. The people of Chu reportedly continued to sing praises of his incorruptible rule long after his tenure.
💡 Example Usage
这孩子小时候爱拔葵啖枣，如今已经改邪归正了。
As a child, this kid was fond of petty stealing, but now he has turned over a new leaf.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 拔葵啖枣
- Pinyin: bá kuí dàn zǎo
- Literal Translation: pull up sunflower, eat jujube
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4