📖 Meaning
This idiom describes an attack so swift and overwhelming that it resembles a fleeing rabbit darting away. It emphasizes the sheer speed and force of an offensive, leaving the enemy no time to respond. The imagery stresses momentum rather than mere quickness.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom does not have a single definitive literary source. It draws on the classical Chinese metaphor of a fleeing rabbit, which appears in Sunzi's Art of War as '动如脱兔' (move like a fleeing rabbit) to describe rapid military maneuvering. '势若脱兔' adapts this well-known image, foregrounding the concept of momentum (势) to stress that the force of an attack is as fast as an escaping rabbit. It has been used in military and strategic contexts throughout Chinese literary tradition.
💡 Example Usage
我军发起冲锋，势若脱兔，敌军根本来不及布防。
Our army launched its charge with the speed of a fleeing rabbit, and the enemy had no time to set up defenses.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 势若脱兔
- Pinyin: shì ruò tuō tù
- Literal Translation: momentum, like, escaping, rabbit
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4