流行词语 (liúxíng cí yŭ)Popular words
忽悠 (hū you) Hoodwink
Where does it originate?
忽悠(hū you) is an often-used word in northern area of China and it originates from the word 胡诱(hú yòu), which means recklessly misleading. It became popular from a witty skit “selling crutches” 卖拐(mài guăi), which is created by the comic stars Zhao Benshan, Fan Wei and Gao Xiumin in the Spring Festival Gala Evening in 2001. Since then, it has been widely spread on the internet and in daily life.
What does it mean?
The word 忽悠(hū you) means “sway” in its literal sense. Figuratively speaking, it means “to hoodwink or sway someone into doing something with flattery or by boasting.”
Where is it used?
According to the meaning of 忽悠(hū you),it is used in the following contexts:
(1) to doubt;
e.g.:Nĭ bié hūyou wŏ le.
你 别 忽悠 我 了。
Don’t cheat me any more.
(2) to describe a great talker;
e.g.:Zhège rén kĕ zhēn’néng hūyou, méishì lăo hūyou rén.
这个 人 可 真能 忽悠, 没事 老 忽悠 人。
He is really a great talker and plays tricks now and then.
(3) to instigate and persuade.
e.g.: Wŏmen qù hūyou hūyou tā.
我们 去 忽悠 忽悠 他。
Let’s persuade him.
吃醋(chī cù) Jealous
Where does it originate?
As it is said that 吃醋(chī cù) comes from the court of the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Taizong intended to arrange a concubine for his premier Fang Xuanling, but Fang’s wife took great efforts to prevent this happening out of jealousness. In the end, Taizong had to force her to drink poisonous wine. Fang’s wife preferred to dying than giving up. She eventually drank the poisoned wine. But it turned out to only be thick vinegar with sweet and sour flavor. Since then, people use 吃醋(chī cù) to refer to jealousness.
What does it mean?
吃醋(chī cù) contains two parts. The first part 吃(chī) means “eat” and the second part 醋(cù) is vinegar. It is well-known that the feeling of jealousness which often causes quarrel and fight in serious relationship is commonly referred as 吃醋(chī cù). But in daily life, 吃醋(chī cù) is also used to describe those who are jealous of others’ achievements or rewards.
Where is it used?
“吃醋(chī cù)”is usually used between those who are in serious relationships. People can use it to describe a bad feeling when they see their boyfriend or girlfriend and even spouse close to others, saying “你跟他∕她那么好，我吃醋了。(nĭ gēn tā ∕ tā nà me hăo, wŏ chī cù le.)” “I am jealous of your relationship with him∕her.”Or when people see that their Mr. Right behaves abnormally, they can ask “你吃醋了？(nĭ chī cù le?)” “Are you jealous?”
Related Post:
Why does eating vinegar mean being jealous? (Elementary)
