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

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.

这场大雨把连日的闷热一扫而光。

Zhè chǎng dàyǔ bǎ lián rì de mēnrè yīsǎo'érguāng.

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

他的解释让我的疑虑一扫而光。

Tā de jiěshì ràngwǒ 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