借题发挥 jiè tí fā huī take the opportunity to speak out

Explanation

借着某件事情为题目来做文章，以表达自己真正的意见或主张。也指假借某事为由，去做其它的事。

To use a certain matter as a pretext to express one's true opinion or intention. It also refers to using a certain matter as an excuse to do other things.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，有个名叫李白的诗人，一日与朋友饮酒作乐，酒至半酣，李白兴致勃勃，吟诗作赋，他的朋友们听得如痴如醉。这时，一位官员来到酒席，李白看到这位官员衣着华丽，举止傲慢，心中十分不满。但碍于官场的规矩，不便直言相劝，于是便借着饮酒作乐的时机，借题发挥，写了一首诗，委婉地讽刺了这位官员的骄横跋扈。诗中，他巧妙地将一些看似无关紧要的景物与官员的行为作对比，暗示官员的所作所为与唐朝的礼仪规范背道而驰。他的诗句如同一把利剑，直刺官员的心坎，让官员无言以对，羞愧难当。

huà shuō táng cháo shíqī, yǒu gè míng jiào lǐ bái de shī rén, yī rì yǔ péngyǒu yǐn jiǔ zuò lè, jiǔ zhì bàn hān, lǐ bái xìng zhì bó bó, yín shī zuò fù, tā de péngyǒu men tīng de rú chī rú zuì。zhè shí, yī wèi guān yuán lái dào jiǔ xí, lǐ bái kàn dào zhè wèi guān yuán yīzhuō huá lì, jǔ zhǐ ào màn, xīn zhōng shí fēn bù mǎn。dàn ài yú guān chǎng de guī ju, bù biàn zhíyán xiāng quàn, yú shì biàn jièzhe yǐn jiǔ zuò lè de shíjī, jiè tí fā huī, xiě le yī shǒu shī, wěi wǎn de fēngcì le zhè wèi guān yuán de jiāo héng bá hù。shī zhōng, tā qiǎo miào de jiāng yīxiē kànshì wú guān jǐng yào de jǐng wù yǔ guān yuán de xíng wéi zuò duìbǐ, ànshì guān yuán de suǒ zuò suǒ wéi yǔ táng cháo de lǐyí guīfàn bèi dào chī。tā de shī jù rú tóng yī bǎ lì jiàn, zhí cì guān yuán de xīn kǎn, ràng guān yuán wú yán yǐ duì, xiū kuì nán dāng。

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a poet named Li Bai. One day, he was drinking and having fun with his friends. When the wine was half gone, Li Bai was very excited and wrote poems. His friends were fascinated. At this time, an official came to the banquet. Li Bai saw that this official was gorgeously dressed and behaved arrogantly. He was very unhappy. But because of the rules of the officialdom, he was not convenient to speak directly. So he used this opportunity and wrote a poem, euphemistically satirizing the arrogance of this official. In the poem, he cleverly contrasted some seemingly unimportant things with the behavior of the officials, implying that the officials' actions went against the norms of etiquette in the Tang Dynasty.

Usage

主要用于贬义，指假借某事为由，或利用某事为机会，来达到表达自己本意或做其它事情的目的。

zhǔyào yòng yú biǎn yì, zhǐ jiǎ jiè mǒu shì wèi yóu, huò lìyòng mǒu shì wèi jīhuì, lái dào biǎodá zìjǐ běn yì huò zuò qítā shìqíng de mùdì

Mainly used in a derogatory sense, it means to use a certain matter as a pretext or to take advantage of a certain matter as an opportunity to achieve the purpose of expressing one's original intention or doing other things.

Examples

• 他借题发挥，批评了会议的组织工作。

  tā jiè tí fā huī, pīpíng le huìyì de zǔzhī gōngzuò。

  He used this as an opportunity to express his dissatisfaction.

• 他借着这次会议的机会，借题发挥，表达了自己的不满。

  tā jièzhe zhè cì huìyì de jīhuì, jiè tí fā huī, biǎodá le zìjǐ de bùmǎn

  He took the opportunity to criticize the organization of the meeting under the guise of something else.

Related Idioms

• 指桑骂槐

• 旁敲侧击

Opposite Idioms

• 直言不讳

• 开门见山