挑肥拣瘦 tiāo féi jiǎn shòu pick the fat and choose the lean

Explanation

挑肥拣瘦，是汉语成语，意思是挑挑拣拣，只选对自己有利的，不顾及别人的感受。这个成语通常用于批评那些自私自利，只顾自己的人。

"Pick the fat and choose the lean" is a Chinese idiom that means to be picky and only choose what is beneficial to oneself, without regard for the feelings of others. This idiom is often used to criticize those who are selfish and only care about themselves.

Origin Story

从前，在一个小山村里，住着一位名叫李大山的农夫。李大山有一头老黄牛，这头老黄牛虽然老了，但依然是村里最好的耕牛。有一天，李大山到集市上卖菜，路过一家屠户店时，闻到了一股香味，他忍不住停下来一看，原来是屠户正在卖牛肉。李大山看到那牛肉又肥又嫩，口水直流，心想：要是能买一块回去，晚上就能炖一锅香喷喷的牛肉汤，那该多好啊！可是，李大山一看价格，顿时就犹豫了。他平时省吃俭用，攒了几个月的钱才买了一头老黄牛，现在要是买这块牛肉，就相当于把老黄牛的价值都赔进去了。李大山在那里徘徊了很久，最后还是舍不得花这笔钱，他心想：算了，我还是回家吃野菜吧。于是，李大山就离开了屠户店，继续赶路。到了晚上，李大山回到家，发现老黄牛不见了。他四处寻找，最后在邻居家找到了老黄牛。原来，邻居家的小孩看到李大山家的老黄牛瘦骨嶙峋，就偷偷地把它牵走了，想把它养肥了再卖掉。李大山气得怒火中烧，他找到邻居家理论，邻居家的主人却振振有词地说：“我家的孩子只是想把你的老黄牛养肥了再卖掉，又没伤害它，你有什么可生气的？”李大山顿时哑口无言。他心想：是啊，邻居家的孩子只是想把我的老黄牛养肥了再卖掉，并没有恶意，我生什么气呢？于是，李大山就忍气吞声，没有再追究。从那以后，李大山就再也不去集市上买肉了，因为他怕自己又会像以前一样挑肥拣瘦，结果却得不偿失。

cóng qián, zài yī ge xiǎo shān cūn lǐ, zhù zhe yī wèi míng jiào lǐ dà shān de nóng fū. lǐ dà shān yǒu yī tóu lǎo huáng niú, zhè tóu lǎo huáng niú suī rán lǎo le, dàn yī rán shì cūn lǐ zuì hǎo de gēng niú. yǒu yī tiān, lǐ dà shān dào jí shì shàng mài cài, lù guò yī jiā tú hù diàn shí, wén dào le yī gù xiāng wèi, tā bù néng rěn zhù tíng xià lái yī kàn, yuán lái shì tú hù zhèng zài mài niú ròu. lǐ dà shān kàn dào nà niú ròu yòu féi yòu nèn, kǒu shuǐ zhí liú, xīn xiǎng: yào shì néng mǎi yī kuài huí qù, wǎn shàng jiù néng dùn yī guō xiāng pèn pèn de niú ròu tāng, nà gāi duō hǎo a! kě shì, lǐ dà shān yī kàn jià gé, dùn shí jiù yóu yù le. tā píng shí shěng chī jiǎn yòng, zǎn le jǐ ge yuè de qián cái mǎi le yī tóu lǎo huáng niú, xiàn zài yào shì mǎi zhè kuài niú ròu, jiù xiāng dāng yú bǎ lǎo huáng niú de jià zhí dōu péi jìn qù le. lǐ dà shān zài nà lǐ pái huái le hěn jiǔ, zuì hòu hái shì shě bu de huā zhè bǐ qián, tā xīn xiǎng: suàn le, wǒ hái shì huí jiā chī yě cài ba. yú shì, lǐ dà shān jiù lí kāi le tú hù diàn, jì xù gǎn lù. dào le wǎn shàng, lǐ dà shān huí dào jiā, fā xiàn lǎo huáng niú bù jiàn le. tā sì chù xún zhǎo, zuì hòu zài lín jū jiā zhǎo dào le lǎo huáng niú. yuán lái, lín jū jiā de xiǎo hái kàn dào lǐ dà shān jiā de lǎo huáng niú shòu gǔ lín xún, jiù tōu tōu de bǎ tā qiān zǒu le, xiǎng bǎ tā yǎng féi le zài mài diào. lǐ dà shān qì de nù huǒ zhōng shāo, tā zhǎo dào lín jū jiā lí lùn, lín jū jiā de zhǔ rén què zhèn zhèn yǒu cí de shuō: “wǒ jiā de hái zi zhǐ shì xiǎng bǎ nǐ de lǎo huáng niú yǎng féi le zài mài diào, yòu méi shāi hài tā, nǐ yǒu shén me kě shēng qì de?” lǐ dà shān dùn shí yǎ kǒu wú yán. tā xīn xiǎng: shì a, lín jū jiā de hái zi zhǐ shì xiǎng bǎ wǒ de lǎo huáng niú yǎng féi le zài mài diào, bìng méi yǒu è yì, wǒ shēng shén me qì ne? yú shì, lǐ dà shān jiù rěn qì tūn shēng, méi yǒu zài zhuī jiū. cóng nà yǐ hòu, lǐ dà shān jiù zài yě bù qù jí shì shàng mǎi ròu le, yīn wèi tā pà zì jǐ yòu huì xiàng yǐ qián yī yàng tiāo féi jiǎn shòu, jié guǒ què dé bù cháng shī.

Once upon a time, in a small mountain village, there lived a farmer named Li Dashan. Li Dashan had an old ox, which, though old, was still the best draught animal in the village. One day, Li Dashan went to the market to sell vegetables. As he passed a butcher's shop, he smelled a delicious aroma. He couldn't resist stopping to have a look. It turned out that the butcher was selling beef. Li Dashan saw the beef, which was so fat and tender, and his mouth started to water. He thought: If I could buy a piece to take home, I could make a pot of delicious beef soup tonight, that would be great! However, when Li Dashan saw the price, he hesitated immediately. He lived frugally and had saved for several months to buy an old ox. If he bought this piece of beef now, it would be like losing the value of his old ox. Li Dashan hesitated for a long time, and in the end he couldn't bring himself to spend this money. He thought: Forget it, I'll just eat vegetables at home. So, Li Dashan left the butcher's shop and continued on his way. When he got home that night, he found that the old ox was gone. He searched everywhere, until he finally found it in the neighbour's house. It turned out that the neighbour's child had seen Li Dashan's old ox, which was skin and bones, and had secretly taken it away to fatten it up and then sell it. Li Dashan was furious. He went to the neighbour to complain, but the neighbour's owner argued: “My child just wanted to fatten up your old ox and then sell it. He didn’t hurt it, why are you so angry?” Li Dashan was suddenly speechless. He thought: Yes, the neighbour's child just wanted to fatten up my old ox and then sell it, he didn’t have any malicious intent, why should I be angry? So, Li Dashan swallowed his anger and didn’t pursue it further. From that day on, Li Dashan never bought meat at the market again, because he was afraid that he would be picky again and end up losing out.

Usage

挑肥拣瘦是贬义词，通常用于批评那些只顾自己利益，不顾及他人感受的人。

tiāo féi jiǎn shòu shì biǎn yì cí, tōng cháng yòng yú pī píng nà xiē zhǐ gù zì jǐ lì yì, bù gù jí tā rén gǎn shòu de rén.

"Pick the fat and choose the lean" is a pejorative term, usually used to criticize those who only care about their own interests and do not consider the feelings of others.

Examples

• 他这个人总是挑肥拣瘦，很难相处。

  tā zhè ge rén zǒng shì tiāo féi jiǎn shòu, hěn nán xiāng chǔ.

  He is always picky and difficult to get along with.

• 这家餐厅的菜品质量参差不齐，顾客们挑肥拣瘦，挑来挑去，最后还是什么都没点。

  zhè jiā cān tīng de cài pǐn zhì liàng cān chà bù qí, gù kè men tiāo féi jiǎn shòu, tiāo lái tiāo qù, zuì hòu hái shì shén me dōu méi diǎn.

  The dishes in this restaurant are of uneven quality, customers are picky and choose this and that, and finally nothing is ordered.

• 面试时，他挑肥拣瘦，对很多工作都不满意，结果错过了很多机会。

  miàn shì shí, tā tiāo féi jiǎn shòu, duì hěn duō gōng zuò dōu bù mǎn yì, jié guǒ cuò guò le hěn duō jī huì.

  During the interview, he was picky, he was not satisfied with many jobs, and missed many opportunities.

Related Idioms

• 挑三拣四

• 吹毛求疵

Opposite Idioms

• 不拘小节

• 平易近人