逃之夭夭

táozhīyāoyāo
idiom #16,574

Meanings

  1. 1 to flee without a trace
  2. 2 to make one's getaway; to show a clean pair of heels

Examples

Xiǎotōu déshǒu hòu táozhīyāoyāo le.
The thief made off without a trace after the heist.
Hái méi děng jǐngchá lái, tā jiù táozhīyāoyāo le.
Before the police even arrived, he had already fled.

Tips

history
A playful twist on (táo zhī yāoyāo, 'the peach trees are in blossom') from the Classic of Poetry (). The character (peach) was replaced with its homophone (flee), turning a romantic verse into a humorous escape idiom.
register
Often humorous or lighthearted in tone — used when someone slips away cleverly rather than in serious/tragic contexts.

Stroke Order

táo
zhī
yāo