白刀子

báidāozi
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 'white knife' (literal)
  2. 2 knife going in clean, used in the violent idiom 白刀子进红刀子出

Examples

Tā qì de mà le yí jù " báidāozi jìn hóng dāozi chū! "
He was so angry he spat the phrase 'the knife goes in white, comes out red!'
Zhèzhǒng báidāozi jìn hóng dāozi chū dehuà bùnéng suíbiàn shuō.
You can't casually say a thing like 'in clean, out bloody' — it's a real threat.

Tips

register
白刀子 almost never appears on its own — it is part of the set threat 白刀子刀子 ('the blade goes in white, comes out red,' i.e. stabbing someone). This is gangster / jianghu speech found in wuxia novels, crime dramas, and rough arguments. Avoid using it literally; understand it when you hear it.

Stroke Order

bái
dāo