探空靴

tànkōngxuē

idiom

Meanings

1 empty, grandstanding talk
2 big words with no substance behind them

Characters

Examples

他的演讲不过是探空靴，没有一句实在的。

Tā de yǎnjiǎng bùguò shì tànkōngxuē, méiyǒu yí jù shízài de.

His speech was all hot air — not a single concrete thing in it.

别再说探空靴了，拿出具体方案来。

Bié zài shuō tànkōngxuē le, ná chū jùtǐ fāng'àn lái.

Stop the empty posturing and bring out an actual plan.

Tips

register

Rare and literary. The image is of thrusting a hand into an empty boot — grand gesture, nothing inside. Modern equivalents: 说空话 or 放空炮.

Stroke Order

探 tàn

空 kōng

靴 xuē