📖 Meaning
This idiom metaphorically refers to children born in one's later years. The imagery draws from the runt of a litter and a bird fledging at the end of the season, both symbolizing offspring that arrive late in life.
📜 Origin Story
This is a folk-derived idiom with no single authoritative literary source. It draws on rural observations of animal husbandry: the smallest piglet in a litter and a pipit bird hatched late in the season both represent young that come at the tail end. Over time these images were combined and applied to human families, specifically to describe children born when their parents are already advanced in age.
💡 Example Usage
老来得子本是人生幸事，幺豚暮鹨尤为珍贵。
Having a child in old age is already a blessing; such a late-born child is especially precious.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 幺豚暮鹨
- Pinyin: yāo tún mù liù
- Literal Translation: youngest piglet, late-season pipit
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4