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Glossary entry

Chinese term or phrase:

引蛇出洞

English translation:

lure the snake away from its hole

Added to glossary by albertdeng
Oct 9, 2006 02:48
18 yrs ago
4 viewers *
Chinese term

引蛇出洞

Chinese to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
Meaning to lure the target to appear. Is there an equivalent English idiom?
Proposed translations (English)
4 +1 lure the snake from its hole
4 +3 Flush out the bad guys
4 +1 FYI
4 draw snake out of its hole, (fig.) bait, entice
4 -1 flush out/flush (something) out
2 -2 to give someone enough rope to hang themselves

Discussion

beirenbo Oct 9, 2006:
This section is strictlly reserved for asking the asker questions and nothing else. If you need to make a comment, please do so below.
Shang Oct 9, 2006:
"蛇"未必是坏人。“引蛇出洞”在许多情况下已经演变成贬义词了：用花言巧语引诱潜在对手说错话做错事，随便加个莫须有的罪名残酷镇压。
Ray Luo Oct 9, 2006:
‘引’ does not mean 'flush out'.
Denyce Seow Oct 9, 2006:
"... 隐藏处引出来。"
Denyce Seow Oct 9, 2006:
引蛇出洞：比喻用计谋把敌人、坏人从隐藏出引出来。
I think "计谋" and "引出" are the keywords here.

Proposed translations

+1
4 hrs
Selected

lure the snake from its hole

In order to lure the snake from its hole, Ababaikri invited the governor of Yutian to come and have a negotiation with him.

Philostratus relates in his life of Apollonius that the snake-charmer lures the snake out of its hole by incantations, lulls it to sleep, cuts off its head with a hatchet, then extracts the jewel.

The attacker lures a victim into requesting resolution of a name in a zone he controls, eg,

Peer comment(s):
neutral beirenbo : Again, I don't think he wants a literal translation. He is looking for an equivalent, commonly-used English idiom. I have never heard anyone use the phrase "lure the snake from its hole" in English.
7 hrs
agree chica nueva : lure the snake away from its hole? (usu. lure towards or away from sth? 'lure out of' is also OK...'lure from'? maybe, maybe, can't be sure now.)
2 days 16 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Really really appreciate your kind help, guys. I wanted to have an idiomatic English equivalent, but did not get one equivalent enough. Finally I adopted Ray's one also with consideration to Lesley's input. Lure the snake away from its hole"
+1
25 mins

FYI

New Page 3[ 繁体 ]引蛇出洞 Lure a snake from its lair. 12. 力拔山河 Power to move rivers or mountains. 13. 霸王看腿 Warrior look at his leg ...
www.taichischool.ca/Tai Chi Fan.htm - 23k - Cached - Similar pages
PDF] Analogies at large – with apologies to animalsFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML

To “lure the snakes out of their holes”, so to speak. And that serves little purpose if the trial period is too short; as then either not all the ...
www.hkbu.edu.hk/~sktsang/Analogies_at_large.pdf - Supplemental Result - Similar pages
Peer comment(s):
neutral beirenbo : I think he is looking for an equivalent idiom, not a literal translation.
1 hr
disagree Giovanni Valenti : Any chance of a clean posting, ever?
2 hrs
agree Ray Luo
3 hrs
thanks
agree chica nueva
2 days 19 hrs
thanks
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-1
1 hr

flush out/flush (something) out

flush3 : [ flsh ]
v. flushed, flush·ing, flush·es
v. tr.
1. To frighten (a game bird, for example) from cover.
2. To drive or force into the open: The police fired tear gas to flush out the terrorists.

I gather you are not looking for a literal translation, but rather an English idiom that roughly means the same thing. "Flush 'em out" is a very familiar and recognizable term to English speakers, and is a better choice than something along the lines of "lure a snake." This term originated from hunting but can be applied to virtually anything.
Example sentence:

If you see a German hiding behind some rubble, try to flush him out by demolishing his hiding place. (In reference to a video game)

The main way is in the use of hounds to 'flush out' stags and foxes that have taken refuge in a wood or thicket.

Reference:

http://www.gamespot.com/events/wiilaunch/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=25023013

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20051101/ai_n15824294

Peer comment(s):
agree Giovanni Valenti : Flush out/draw out the culprits/suspect/bad guys, etc
57 mins
thx
disagree Shang : flush out: to force a person or animal to stop hiding. The military stormed the building and set it on fire to flush out the militants hidden inside. A hunting dog's job is to flush out whatever it is you're hunting.
1 hr
You don't have to use force to flush something out, you just find a way to bring them out in the open. In fact, it is better not to use force.
disagree chica nueva : 引 must be to lead, to draw, induce (the unsuspecting)...the opposite meaning to flush, drive (flush for commandos or police storming a building etc...? oops got that idea from Shang.) agree with Shang and Ray Luo.
2 days 18 hrs
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+3
2 hrs

Flush out the bad guys

Expanding on Aarons great explanation:
Flush out the culprits
Draw out the bad guys
Get the enemy to rear his ugly head
Get the bastard to surface
Get the (blah blah blah) to poke its head up


Peer comment(s):
neutral Shang : it refers to a process to punish one's opponents. no force is used at first
11 mins
Use the force bro
agree randyzou
20 mins
Thanks
agree beirenbo : Again, you don't need to use force to flush something out. You can scare them, trick them, etc. I especially like "get the bastards to surface" but maybe not a good idea for a translation, haha.
9 hrs
Thanks bro. I don't know why the "force" agruement arose... but please "use the force" when in doubt.
agree Hualong Jiang
2 days 10 hrs
thanks
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26 mins

draw snake out of its hole, (fig.) bait, entice

...

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Note added at 27 mins (2006-10-09 03:15:40 GMT)
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draw a snake out of its hole, (fig.) bait, entice


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Note added at 14 hrs (2006-10-09 17:16:39 GMT)
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beguile sb. into do sth. which will lead to punishment because he/she might be a rival
Peer comment(s):
neutral beirenbo : I think he is looking for an equivalent idiom, not a literal translation. I agree with you that the "snake" does not necessarily have to be a bad guy.
1 hr
It means that I offer you a carrot at first, and will hit you when you come out. A carrot and stick policy used by a tyrant or superpower.
disagree Giovanni Valenti : Even the poster understands that part of it being to "lure" (or is lure too forceful for you too?) I guess that bait or entice is not all that passive either so that could be considered too forceful too
4 hrs
oh, my god!
agree chica nueva : perfectly understandable. used in English in regard to modern Chinese history, 1957. draw, entice, beguile all good...(beguile/trick -> lull the enemy into a false sense of security, lay a trap for the unwary...)!
2 days 20 hrs
thank you, Lesley!
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-2
57 mins

to give someone enough rope to hang themselves

give enough rope - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and ...give someone enough rope (to hang themselves). to allow someone to do what they want to, knowing that they will probably fail or get into trouble. ...
idioms.thefreedictionary.com/give+enough+rope - 23k - Cached - Similar pages


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Note added at 1 hr (2006-10-09 03:48:31 GMT)
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proffer a poisoned chalice

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Note added at 1 hr (2006-10-09 03:55:32 GMT)
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if it is political, eg 1957:

draw 'bad elements' out of the woodwork/make 'bad elements' show their true colours

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Note added at 1 hr (2006-10-09 04:00:34 GMT)
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the first two I have offered are not very accurate.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2006-10-09 05:05:08 GMT)
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1957 'luring the snakes out of holes':

http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:0H4tmSGg6WYJ:eng.soundof...

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Note added at 2 hrs (2006-10-09 05:07:20 GMT)
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1957 lure the snakes to come out of their holes:

http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:3Ln8G7Z1uwYJ:www.zonaeur...

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Note added at 2 days21 hrs (2006-10-12 00:05:27 GMT)
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Here's the chengyu:

http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:V1JCvZwh4SwJ:www.cnnet.c...

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Note added at 2 days21 hrs (2006-10-12 00:09:27 GMT)
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"引蛇出洞：与"拨草寻蛇"有点近似。因为蛇在洞中，不便捕捉，所以要想办法将蛇引出洞外，再给以捕捉或消灭。于是"引蛇出洞"就形容先引诱敌方充分暴露，以静制动，然后将其歼灭。 "

-> "引蛇出洞"就形容先引诱敌方充分暴露，以静制动，然后将其歼灭。 "

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Note added at 2 days21 hrs (2006-10-12 00:22:02 GMT)
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other related strategies:
http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:MJaFUL9RVDAJ:blog.icxo.c...

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Note added at 2 days21 hrs (2006-10-12 00:25:45 GMT)
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"佚而劳之。敌人兵强马壮或者处于战略要地，我可以“夺其所爱”，采取围魏救赵、调虎离山，或者以利诱之，引蛇出洞等方式，使敌劳我逸，强弱交换。或者敌人远道而来，军容威武，我坚守不出，断敌粮道，也是妙法。"



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Note added at 2 days21 hrs (2006-10-12 00:33:00 GMT)
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a kind of ambush: "二是引蛇出洞，我们打埋伏战" -> lead the unsuspecting enemy out of his lair and ambush him - (is this similar to 'play good cop, bad cop'?):

天上人家的《惜花门》--------《第五章 柳州风云》 - [ Translate this page ]二是引蛇出洞，我们打埋伏战。” 我看了看众人沉思的表情，道：“我们打仗是以消灭敌人，保存自己为目的，强行攻城会造成大量的人员伤亡，可采取围城打援的方式消灭敌人。” 随后，我又把开展游击战、围城打援、大胆穿插、三三制等从军校学到的一些知识， ...
hjsm.tom.com/chapter.php?book_id=24550&chapter_id=309137 - 15k - Cached - Similar pages

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Note added at 7 days (2006-10-16 07:35:06 GMT) Post-grading
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lure = to persuade someone to do something or go somewhere by offering them something exciting eg She was lured into the job by the offer of a high salary. He had lured his victim to a deserted house. Supermarket chains try to lure customers with price discounts. (Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

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Note added at 7 days (2006-10-16 07:36:59 GMT) Post-grading
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lure into/out of, lure to/from - 'lure from' I guess it is OK.
Peer comment(s):
disagree beirenbo : Sorry, but I don't think this is correct. This phrase implies you are giving someone/something a choice, rather than preying on them.
39 mins
Thanks.
disagree Giovanni Valenti : can't agree with this explanation but good attempt. The last one about draw 'bad elements' out of the woodwork might work depending on the contex though
2 days 18 hrs
Thanks.
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