📖 Meaning
To speak with vicious and hurtful language. The phrase uses 'red' and 'white' to describe harsh, poisonous speech that wounds others. It often refers to making cruel or malicious remarks, including angry oaths and curses.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from a poem titled 'Lunar Eclipse' (《月蚀》) by the Tang dynasty poet Lu Tong (卢仝). In the poem, Lu Tong describes a bird acting as an unobservant host, going to someone's house and wielding a 'red mouth and poisonous tongue.' Over time, the expression evolved to characterize people whose words are cruel and injurious, and it appears in later Qing dynasty novels such as Xia Jingqu's 'The Old Man's Exposure' (《野叟曝言》).
💡 Example Usage
今日祭祖哩，休得赤口白舌的，罚那毒誓。
Today we are honoring our ancestors—do not speak such vicious and hurtful words or swear those bitter oaths.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 赤口白舌
- Pinyin: chì kǒu bái shé
- Literal Translation: red, mouth, white, tongue
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4