执牛耳
Traditional form:
執牛耳
Pinyin (reading):
zhíniú'ěr
Definitions:
- to be the acknowledged leader (from the custom of a prince holding a plate on which lay the severed ears of a sacrificial bull at an alliance ceremony)
Characters:
- 执 - to execute; to grasp, to hold; to keep; to sieze, to detain
- 牛 - ox, cow, bull
- 耳 - ear; to hear, to hear of; handle
Traditional characters: