📖 Meaning
To throw an egg against a rock. This idiom describes someone who grossly overestimates their own strength and recklessly challenges a far superior opponent, inevitably leading to their own destruction. It warns against futile resistance or suicidal overconfidence in the face of overwhelming odds.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from two Warring States period texts. In Xunzi's "Discourse on Military Affairs" (《荀子·议兵》), it states that a tyrant pretending to be a sage king like Yao is like throwing eggs at a stone or winding a finger around boiling water — utterly futile. Mozi, in "Valuing Righteousness" (《墨子·贵义》), uses the same metaphor when arguing against his critics: even if all the eggs in the world were thrown at a stone, the stone would remain undamaged. The image vividly captures the absurdity of pitting the weak against the invincible.
💡 Example Usage
你一个人去挑战他们整个团队，简直是以卵投石。
You going alone to challenge their entire team is simply throwing eggs at a rock.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 以卵投石
- Pinyin: yǐ luǎn tóu shí
- Literal Translation: use egg, throw stone
- Category: Wisdom
- Characters: 4