含沙射影

hánshā-shèyǐng

idiom

Meanings

1 to spit sand at someone's shadow
2 to attack by innuendo
3 to make veiled, malicious insinuations

Characters

to hold in the mouth

Examples

他写这篇文章含沙射影地攻击同事。

Tā xiě zhè piān wénzhāng hánshāshèyǐng de gōngjī tóngshì.

His article is a veiled attack on his colleagues.

有意见就摆到桌面上，不要含沙射影。

Yǒuyì jiàn jiù bǎi dào zhuōmiànshàng, bùyào hánshāshèyǐng.

If you disagree, put it on the table; don't make sneaky insinuations.

这番话含沙射影，令人很不舒服。

Zhè fān huà hánshāshèyǐng, lìngrén hěn bù shūfu.

These remarks were full of veiled jabs and made everyone uncomfortable.

Tips

history

From 晋·干宝《搜神记》: the 蜮 (yù) was a legendary water beast that would hold sand in its mouth and spit it at a person's reflection in the water, causing the person themselves to fall ill. Hence attacking by shadow means harming someone through indirect malice.

Stroke Order

含 hán

沙 shā

射 shè

影 yǐng