📖 Meaning
Literally 'washing away dirt to search for scars.' It is a metaphor for deliberately seeking out and magnifying the faults and shortcomings of others in a nitpicking manner. It is a variant of the idiom 洗垢求瘢.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom is a variant of 洗垢求瘢, rooted in classical Chinese literary criticism traditions. The metaphor likens excessive fault-finding to washing dirt off a surface only to search for scars underneath—an act of over-scrutiny. The phrase reflects the traditional Chinese cultural disdain for those who deliberately magnify minor flaws rather than appreciating overall merit. No single definitive textual origin has been recorded for this specific variant.
💡 Example Usage
评审专家对这篇论文洗垢索瘢，连标点符号都不放过。
The reviewer nitpicked the paper relentlessly, not even sparing the punctuation marks.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 洗垢索瘢
- Pinyin: xǐ gòu suǒ bān
- Literal Translation: wash, dirt, seek, scar
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4