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引蛇出洞

yǐnshéchūdòng
idiom #36,580

Meanings

  1. 1 to lure the snake out of its hole
  2. 2 to draw out an enemy or wrongdoer to expose them
  3. 3 to bait someone into revealing themselves

Examples

警方决定使用引蛇出洞的策略,把那伙骗子抓住。
Jǐngfāng juédìng shǐyòng yǐnshéchūdòng de cèlüè, bǎ nà huǒ piànzi zhuāzhù.
The police decided to use a 'lure the snake out of its hole' strategy to catch the gang of fraudsters.
这个广告是引蛇出洞,看谁会上当。
Zhège guǎnggào shì yǐnshéchūdòng, kàn shéi huì shàngdàng.
This ad is bait — to see who will fall for it.

Tips

history
In modern Chinese politics, 引蛇出洞 is firmly associated with the 1957 Anti-Rightist Campaign (反右运动). Mao Zedong launched the Hundred Flowers Campaign (百花运动, 'Let a hundred flowers bloom') inviting open criticism, then turned on critics who came forward — later calling this 'luring the snakes out of their holes'. The phrase has carried that political sting ever since.
usage
Strategically neutral in everyday use (police stings, market entrapment, debugging tests) but historically loaded — Mainland speakers often hear the 1957 echo. In Hong Kong/Taiwan and casual use, the political resonance is much weaker.

Stroke Order

引 yǐn
蛇 shé
出 chū
洞 dòng