过街老鼠

過街老鼠
guòjiē-lǎoshǔ
idiom #41,786

Meanings

  1. 1 a rat crossing the street
  2. 2 someone universally despised; a target of public scorn

Examples

HSK 7-9
Tā tānwū de shìqing pùguāng hòu, chéng le guòjiē-lǎoshǔ, rénrén hǎn dǎ.
After his corruption was exposed, he became a rat in the street with everyone shouting to strike him down.
HSK 7-9
Zàoyáo de rén zài wǎngshàng chéng le guòjiē-lǎoshǔ.
The rumormonger became a target of universal scorn online.

Tips

history
From the Ming-dynasty work 《归有园尘谈》 by Xu Xuemo (徐学谟). Almost always quoted in the longer form: 老鼠过街,人人喊打 'When a rat crosses the street, everyone shouts to kill it.'
memory
Picture a rat scurrying across a busy street, exposed, in plain view, with everyone yelling and chasing it. The image captures total public disgrace.

Stroke Order

guò
jiē
lǎo
shǔ