一棍子打死

yīgùnzidǎsǐ

idiom

Meanings

1 to finish off with a single blow of the stick
2 to totally reject or condemn over one flaw
3 to write something off wholesale

Characters

to hit, to strike

Examples

他犯了一次错，不能就此一棍子打死。

Tā fàn le yí cì cuò, bù néng jiùcǐ yīgùnzidǎsǐ.

He made one mistake — you can't write him off completely because of it.

对于年轻人的创意，不要一棍子打死，要给他们机会。

Duìyú niánqīngrén de chuàngyì, búyào yīgùnzidǎsǐ, yào gěi tāmen jīhuì.

Don't dismiss young people's ideas wholesale — give them a chance.

评价一部作品要全面，不能一棍子打死。

Píngjià yí bù zuòpǐn yào quánmiàn, bù néng yīgùnzidǎsǐ.

A work should be evaluated comprehensively — you can't dismiss it with one stroke.

Tips

usage

Colloquial and vivid. Typically used in the negative — 不能一棍子打死, 不要一棍子打死 — arguing against overreaction to a single flaw. Common in management, criticism, education.

memory

Picture one 棍子 (stick/club) swinging down to finish the argument. Overkill — hence the negative usage warning against it.

Stroke Order

一 yī

棍 gùn

子 zǐ

打 dǎ

死 sǐ