📖 Meaning
A metaphor for solving an urgent problem with a harmful method that only makes things worse in the long run. It describes sacrificing something essential to address an immediate crisis, creating a new problem while trying to fix the old one.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a poem by the Tang dynasty poet Nie Yizhong titled 'Ode to the Farming Family' (《咏田家》). The poem describes how impoverished farmers are forced to sell their new silk in February and their new grain in May just to survive, cutting into their future livelihood to meet present needs. The key lines translate as 'curing the sore before one's eyes by cutting away the flesh of one's heart,' vividly depicting the cruel trade-off faced by the destitute.
💡 Example Usage
靠借高利贷来还旧债，无异于挖肉补疮，只会让处境更糟。
Using loan sharks to pay off old debts is like cutting flesh to patch a wound—it only makes the situation worse.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 挖肉补疮
- Pinyin: wā ròu bǔ chuāng
- Literal Translation: cut flesh, patch wound
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4