含沙射影

hánshāshèyǐng

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 hán shā shè yǐng 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。

Yǒu yìjiàn jiù bǎi dào zhuōmiàn shàng, bùyào hán shā shè yǐng.

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 hán shā shè yǐng, lìng rén 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