📖 Meaning
A metaphor for something that begins grandly and impressively but ends weakly and fizzles out. It describes endeavors, events, or works whose opening is full of vigor and scale but whose conclusion falls far short of that initial promise.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Song dynasty Neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Xi, recorded in volume 130 of his 'Zhuzi Yulei' (Classified Conversations of Master Zhu). Zhu Xi was critiquing the writing of Ouyang Xiu, noting that in the preface to Ouyang's collected works, the opening was magnificent and sweeping in scope, yet the conclusion failed to match that grandeur. He remarked that such a structure was not merely a case of a dragon's head and a snake's tail — implying a sharp drop-off in quality from start to finish.
💡 Example Usage
这场改革闹了几年，最终龙头蛇尾地收了场。
The reform made a big commotion for several years, but ultimately ended with a whimper rather than a bang.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 龙头蛇尾
- Pinyin: lóng tóu shé wěi
- Literal Translation: dragon head, snake tail
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4