掉书袋

掉書袋

diàoshūdài

idiom

Meanings

1 to wave around one's bookbag
2 to show off one's erudition by quoting the classics
3 pedantic name-dropping

Characters

Examples

HSK 3

他一开口就掉书袋，没人听得进去。

Tā yī kāikǒu jiù diàoshūdài, méi rén tīng de jìnqù.

The moment he opens his mouth he starts quoting classics; nobody can stay tuned in.

HSK 4

写文章要接地气，别老掉书袋。

Xiě wénzhāng yào jiēdìqì, bié lǎo diàoshūdài.

Keep your writing grounded; stop flaunting your reading list.

HSK 5

这位教授讲课生动，从不掉书袋。

Zhè wèi jiàoshòu jiǎngkè shēngdòng, cóngbù diàoshūdài.

This professor teaches with life; he never just trots out quotations.

Tips

history

Originally mocking Southern Tang scholar 彭利用, who answered every question by tossing in obscure classical quotes. Recorded in 《南唐书·彭利用传》, which says he larded even everyday talk with chopped-up book quotes, so people dubbed it 掉书袋.

register

Always pejorative. Calling someone 掉书袋 means they're boring the room with their learning.

Stroke Order

掉 diào

书 shū

袋 dài