二桃杀三士

二桃殺三士
èr táo shā sān shì
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 two peaches kill three warriors
  2. 2 to destroy rivals by setting them against each other

Examples

HSK 5
Lǎobǎn zhǐ fā liǎng fèn jiǎngjīn, què ràng sān rén qù zhēng, zhè bú jiùshì èr táo shā sān shì ma?
The boss put up two bonuses and had three people compete for them. Isn't that "two peaches to kill three warriors"?
HSK 7-9
Tā yòng le yì zhāo èr táo shā sān shì, ràng duìshǒumen zìjǐ dòu le qǐlai.
He pulled a "two peaches, three warriors" trick and got his rivals fighting among themselves.

Tips

history
In the 晏子春秋, the minister 晏子 has 齐景公 offer his three proudest warriors two peaches, to be shared by merit. They quarrel over who deserves them, and all three end up killing themselves out of shame.

Stroke Order

二 èr
桃 táo
杀 shā
三 sān
士 shì