打草惊蛇
Traditional form:
打草驚蛇
Pinyin (reading):
dǎcǎojīngshé
Definitions:
- lit. beat the grass to scare the snake (idiom)
- fig. to inadvertently alert an enemy
- to punish sb as a warning to others
Characters:
- 打 - to attack, to beat, to hit, to strike
- 草 - grass, herbs; straw, thatch
- 惊 - to frighten, to startle; surprise, alarm
- 蛇 - snake
Traditional characters: