一扫而光

一掃而光

yīsǎo'érguāng

idiom #31,497

Meanings

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

Characters

one; in one (go)

and; thereby (classical connector)

bare; used up; nothing left

Examples

HSK 7-9

孩子们把桌上的点心一扫而光。

Háizi men bǎ zhuōshang de diǎnxīn yīsǎo'érguāng.

The kids polished off all the snacks on the table in no time.

HSK 7-9

这场大雨把连日的闷热一扫而光。

Zhè chǎng dàyǔ bǎ liánrì de mēnrè yīsǎo'érguāng.

The heavy rain swept away the stuffy heat of the past days in one go.

HSK 7-9

他的解释让我的疑虑一扫而光。

Tā de jiěshì ràng wǒ de yílǜ yīsǎo'érguāng.

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