📖 Meaning
Describes fleeing in great terror and panic, like birds startled into flight and mice scattering in all directions. It conveys a chaotic, disorganized retreat driven by fear. The idiom is often used for defeated troops or panicked crowds.
📜 Origin Story
No single classical text is recorded as the definitive source of this idiom. It draws on naturalistic imagery common in Chinese literary tradition, combining the flight of startled birds with the scurrying of fleeing mice. Such nature-based metaphors appeared widely in vernacular fiction and historical narratives to depict the rout of defeated armies or panicked crowds. The phrase likely crystallized from folk and literary usage rather than from one identifiable work.
💡 Example Usage
敌军被击溃后，鸟骇鼠窜，四处逃散。
After the enemy troops were routed, they fled in terror, scattering in all directions like startled birds and mice.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鸟骇鼠窜
- Pinyin: niǎo hài shǔ cuàn
- Literal Translation: bird, startled, mouse, flee
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4