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一扫而光

一掃而光
yīsǎo'érguāng
idiom #31,497

Meanings

  1. 1 to sweep clean in one go
  2. 2 to wipe out completely
  3. 3 to finish off entirely (e.g. food, enemies, doubts)

Examples

孩子们把桌上的点心一扫而光。
Háizimen bǎ zhuō shang de diǎnxīn yī sǎo ér guāng.
The kids polished off all the snacks on the table in no time.
这场大雨把连日的闷热一扫而光。
Zhè chǎng dàyǔ bǎ liánrì de mēnrè yī sǎo ér guāng.
The heavy rain swept away the stuffy heat of the past days in one go.
他的解释让我的疑虑一扫而光。
Tā de jiěshì ràng wǒ de yílǜ yī sǎo ér guāng.
His explanation wiped away all my doubts at once.

Tips

history
Traced to Su Shi (苏轼, Song dynasty) in 《题王逸少帖》: '出林飞鸟一扫空' — birds leaving the forest sweep the sky clean. The phrase later generalized to wiping anything out wholesale.
usage
Often used with 把 + object (把…一扫而光). Works for food eaten up, doubts dispelled, enemies defeated, or bad moods lifted — anything that can be 'swept away'.

Stroke Order

一 yī
扫 sǎo
而 ér
光 guāng