This medicine is no magic bullet - don't expect to be cured the moment you take it.
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From the Yuan play 《玩江亭》 (anonymous): 灵丹妙药都不用，吃的是生姜辣蒜大憨葱 - no need for magic elixirs; what we eat is ginger, garlic, and scallions. The phrase comes from Taoist alchemy (丹 refers to cinnabar-based elixirs) but is now mostly figurative.
usage
Most often used in the negative (没有…的灵丹妙药) to push back against 'one-shot' thinking. Also common with 把…当作灵丹妙药 - 'treat X as a cure-all.'
