📖 Meaning
To use threats, intimidation, or coercion to extort money or property from others. It typically involves leveraging power or seizing on someone's vulnerabilities to force compliance through fear. The phrase describes an illegal and immoral act of blackmail.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in the novel 'Tracks in the Snowy Forest' (林海雪原) by Qu Bo, a celebrated work set during the Chinese Civil War. In one passage, two corrupt figures named Song Fu and Wang Dalu are described as exploiting their authority over gold-panning operations and forest laborers in Kulunbi, committing every kind of wrongdoing including extortion and blackmail. The term thus arose in modern Chinese literary usage to characterize the abuse of power for illicit financial gain.
💡 Example Usage
这个犯罪团伙以敲诈勒索为手段，非法获取了大量财物。
The criminal gang used extortion as their means to illegally obtain a large amount of property.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 敲诈勒索
- Pinyin: qiāo zhà lè suǒ
- Literal Translation: knock, defraud, force, demand
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4