📖 Meaning
To follow a winding and twisting path or road. Figuratively, it describes speaking in a roundabout or indirect manner, avoiding coming straight to the point.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Yuan dynasty play 'Dongtang Lao' (东堂老) by Qin Jianfu (秦简夫). In the first act, a character uses the phrase to describe arriving at the Li family's doorstep after navigating a winding path. The variant character 湾 (water bend) is the older form, later commonly replaced by 弯 (curve) in the more widespread version 转弯抹角. The idiom originally described physical movement along crooked roads before gaining its figurative meaning of indirect speech.
💡 Example Usage
他转湾抹角绕了半天，才说到正题上。
He beat around the bush for a long time before finally getting to the point.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 转湾抹角
- Pinyin: zhuǎn wān mò jiǎo
- Literal Translation: turn, bend, touch, corner
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4