明目张胆 openly and boldly
Explanation
指公然地、无所顾忌地做坏事。
To refer to doing bad things openly and without scruples.
Origin Story
话说唐朝时期，有个名叫韦思谦的监察御史，他嫉恶如仇，敢于直言，为百姓伸冤。一次，他发现朝廷大臣褚遂良仗势欺人，明目张胆地霸占百姓土地，便立即上书弹劾。唐高宗听后大怒，将褚遂良贬官。然而，褚遂良后来官复原职，并伺机报复韦思谦。韦思谦对此毫不在意，他说道：“大丈夫行事，当光明磊落，何必偷偷摸摸？我光明正大地为国效力，问心无愧！”他的行为感动了许多人，也让那些心怀鬼胎的人望而生畏。
During the Tang Dynasty, there was an upright official named Wei Siqian, known for his hatred of injustice and his courage to speak truth to power. He discovered that the high-ranking official Chu Suiliang was arrogantly seizing land from the peasants. Wei Siqian immediately reported Chu Suiliang to the emperor. The emperor punished Chu Suiliang, but he later returned to his position and sought revenge on Wei Siqian. Wei Siqian, unfazed, declared: "A true man should act openly and honestly; why hide? I serve the country with a clear conscience." His actions inspired many and deterred those with ulterior motives.
Usage
形容公然、不加掩饰地做坏事。多用于贬义。
To describe openly and without disguise doing bad things. Mostly used in a derogatory sense.
Examples
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他明目张胆地抄袭别人的作品。
ta mingmuzhangdan de chao xi qi ta ren de zuopin.
He openly plagiarized other people's works.
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他们明目张胆地破坏公共设施。
tamen mingmuzhangdan de po huai gonggong shishi
They openly damaged public facilities.