一口咬定

yīkǒuyǎodìng
idiom #38,855

Meanings

  1. 1 to insist firmly
  2. 2 to stick to one's statement
  3. 3 to assert flatly and refuse to back down

Examples

Tā yīkǒuyǎodìng zìjǐ méi zuòguo zhè jiàn shì.
He flatly insisted he had never done it.
Bùguǎn biérén zěnme wèn, tā dōu yīkǒuyǎodìng zhè shì zìjǐ de zhǔyi.
No matter how others asked, she stuck to her story that it was her own idea.

Tips

history
From the late-Qing novel 《》 chapter 10: 「一口咬定认得」 — the monk Huixiu 'clamped down' on his claim of not knowing the suspect. The metaphor is a dog biting shut and refusing to let go.
memory
Picture biting down () on a statement like a dog on a bone — jaw locked shut (, 'in one mouthful'), no matter who tries to pry it loose.

Stroke Order

kǒu
yǎo
dìng