📖 Meaning
Describes someone who voluntarily walks into a trap or brings trouble upon themselves by rushing headlong into danger. The image is of a person drilling their own head into a lock, as if locking themselves up willingly.
📜 Origin Story
From the Yuan dynasty play 'Qi Yingbu' (气英布) by the dramatist Shang Zhongxian, first act. In the original dialogue, the speaker rebukes someone for recklessly provoking danger—poking scorpions, teasing bees, fighting tigers bare-handed, and crossing rivers carelessly—then asks 'who told you to drill your head right into the lock?' implying the person has no one but themselves to blame for the consequences. The phrase later became an idiom for walking willingly into a trap.
💡 Example Usage
明知道是圈套你还往里钻，这不是钻头就锁吗？
You know it's a trap and you still walk right into it—isn't that just locking your own head in the noose?
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 钻头就锁
- Pinyin: zuàn tóu jiù suǒ
- Literal Translation: drill, head, approach, lock
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4