📖 Meaning
To persuade someone by using various reasons and approaches, alternating between different tactics. It describes repeatedly trying to convince or mediate through both gentle and firm arguments. The phrase literally means 'acting good, acting bad,' reflecting the shifting strategies used in persuasion.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Qing dynasty novel 'Jinghua Yuan' (Flowers in the Mirror), Chapter 11, written by Li Ruzhen. In the story, a dispute arises between a clerk and a merchant over a transaction. Two old men passing by step in and mediate using various arguments from different angles. Through their persistent persuasion, the parties finally agree to settle the goods at an eighty percent discount, completing the deal peacefully.
💡 Example Usage
邻居们作好作歹，总算劝住了这场争吵。
The neighbors persuaded and mediated in every way they could, and finally managed to settle the quarrel.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 作好作歹
- Pinyin: zuò hǎo zuò dǎi
- Literal Translation: do, good, do, bad
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4