尾大难掉 wěi dà nán diào too big to fail

Explanation

比喻机构庞大，指挥不灵；也比喻部下的势力很大，难以指挥调动。

It is used to describe a large organization that is difficult to manage; or it is used to describe that subordinates are too powerful to command and control.

Origin Story

话说东汉末年，天下大乱，群雄逐鹿。有一位诸侯名叫刘备，手下有两位得力干将：关羽和张飞。关羽武艺高强，忠义无双，张飞勇猛过人，粗中有细。二人在战场上屡立战功，深得刘备的信任，势力日益壮大。渐渐地，关羽和张飞的势力越来越大，甚至开始不服从刘备的指挥，经常自作主张，我行我素。刘备虽然很欣赏他们的才能，但看到他们尾大难掉，也感到非常头疼。一次，刘备决定攻打曹操，关羽和张飞却因为一些私人恩怨，互相推诿，迟迟不肯出兵。刘备气得暴跳如雷，却奈何不了他们，只能无奈地叹气。最终，因为关羽和张飞的内讧，刘备的这次进攻以失败告终。这次失败让刘备深深地认识到，尾大难掉，对于一个领导者来说，是一件多么可怕的事情。从此以后，刘备更加注重权力的平衡，避免再次出现尾大难掉的情况。

huà shuō dōng hàn mò nián, tiān xià dà luàn, qún xióng zhú lù. yǒu yī wèi zhū hóu míng jiào liú bèi, shǒu xià yǒu liǎng wèi dé lì gān jiàng: guān yǔ hé zhāng fēi. guān yǔ wǔ yì gāo qiáng, zhōng yì wú shuāng, zhāng fēi yǒng měng guò rén, cū zhōng yǒu xì. èr rén zài zhàn chǎng shàng lǚ lì zhàn gōng, shēn dé liú bèi de xìn rèn, shì lì rì yì zhuàng dà. jiàn jiàn de, guān yǔ hé zhāng fēi de shì lì yuè lái yuè dà, shèn zhì kāi shǐ bù fú cóng liú bèi de zhǐ huī, jīng cháng zì zuò zhǔ zhāng, wǒ xíng wǒ sù. liú bèi suī rán hěn xīn shǎng tā men de cái néng, dàn kàn dào tā men wěi dà nán diào, yě gǎn dào fēi cháng tóu téng. yī cì, liú bèi juédìng gōng dǎ cáo cāo, guān yǔ hé zhāng fēi què yīn wèi yī xiē sī rén ēn yuàn, hù xiāng tuī wěi, chí chí bù kěn chū bīng. liú bèi qì de bào tiào rú léi, què nài hé bù liǎo tā men, zhǐ néng wú nài de tàn qì. zuì zhōng, yīn wèi guān yǔ hé zhāng fēi de nèi hòng, liú bèi de zhè cì jīngōng yǐ shībài gào zhōng. zhè cì shībài ràng liú bèi shēn shēn de rèn shí dào, wěi dà nán diào, duì yú yī gè lǐng dǎo zhě lái shuō, shì yī jiàn duō me kě pà de shì qing. cóng cǐ yǐ hòu, liú bèi gèng jiā zhù zhòng quán lì de píng héng, bì miǎn zài cì chū xiàn wěi dà nán diào de qíng kuàng.

In the Three Kingdoms period of China, there was a warlord named Liu Bei who had two very powerful generals: Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Guan Yu was known for his martial arts and loyalty, while Zhang Fei was known for his courage and bravery. Over time, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei gained immense power and influence, so much so that they began to ignore Liu Bei's orders and make their own decisions. This made it very difficult for Liu Bei to control them. The situation exemplifies the problem of "Weida Nandiao"—an organization where subordinate units become too powerful to be effectively controlled.

Usage

用于比喻机构庞大，指挥不灵，或比喻部下的势力很大，难以指挥调动。

yòng yú bǐ yù jīgòu páng dà, zhǐ huī bù líng, huò bǐ yù bù xià de shì lì hěn dà, nán yǐ zhǐ huī tiáodòng

Used to describe a large organization that is difficult to manage, or to describe that subordinates are too powerful to command and control.

Examples

• 这公司规模庞大，尾大难掉，改革举步维艰。

  zhège gōngsī guīmó pángdà, wěi dà nán diào, gǎigé jǔbù wéijiān

  This company is too large to manage, and reforms are very difficult.

• 这个部门人多，决策效率低，真是尾大难掉。

  zhège bùmen rén duō, juécè xiàolǜ dī, zhēnshi wěi dà nán diào

  This department has too many employees, resulting in low decision-making efficiency, which is very bad..

Related Idioms

• 尾大不掉

• 庞大

Opposite Idioms

• 井井有条

• 指挥若定