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Chinese Idioms 成 语

Lesson 9
Hú jiǎ hǔ wēi
【狐 假 虎 威】
The fox borrows the tiger's ferocity

One day, a tiger caught a fox and was about to devour it. The quick-witted fox stopped the tiger, saying: "How dare you eat me? You should know that I was sent by the heavens to be the king of beasts. If you don't believe me, come with me and see for yourself that there is not animal that isn't afraid of me!"
The tiger agreed.

The fox walked ahead of the tiger through the forest. All the animals that they passed - the rabbits, the deer and all the others - ran for cover upon seeing the fox and the tiger.

The tiger was amazed! The other animals really were afraid of the fox! In fact, the tiger thought that he, too, ought to be afraid of the fox and decided not to eat him after all.

tóng xiǎo
Almost the same; alike except for slight differences
xiǎn shén tōng
To display one's remarkable skill; give full display to one's brilliant abilities
Xiǎo zuò
To kick up a fuss over a trivial matter; to make a mountain out of a molehill
Xiǎo ēn xiǎo huì
Petty favors; small favors