📖 Meaning
The entire course of events and the underlying reasons behind them. It refers to understanding or recounting the full story from start to finish, including why things happened as they did.
📜 Origin Story
Originates from the Yuan dynasty playwright Ma Zhiyuan's zaju play Qing Shan Lei (Tears of the Blue Shirt), Act 4. The original line reads, 'You must tell the whole story and its reasons in detail, without concealing anything.' The phrase combines '始末' (beginning and end, i.e., the whole process) with '缘由' (cause and reason) to describe a complete account of what happened and why.
💡 Example Usage
老管家将此事的始末缘由细细说了一遍。
The old steward recounted the entire course of events and its causes in detail.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 始末缘由
- Pinyin: shǐ mò yuán yóu
- Literal Translation: beginning, end, cause, origin
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4