生拉硬扯 far-fetched
Explanation
形容说话或做事牵强附会，不自然。
Describes a statement or action as forced and unnatural.
Origin Story
从前，有个秀才参加乡试，他的文章水平很一般，但为了凑够字数，他生拉硬扯，把一些毫不相干的内容硬塞进去。考官一看，哭笑不得，批了个“不通”。秀才不服气，认为自己已经尽力了，考官不识货。其实，文章要的是逻辑通顺，而不是字数堆砌。
Once upon a time, a scholar took part in the imperial examinations. His essays were mediocre, but to make up the required word count, he forcibly and arbitrarily added completely irrelevant content. The examiner was perplexed and marked the essay as "incomprehensible". The scholar was indignant and believed he had done his best, and the examiner was incompetent. In fact, essays require logical consistency, not just filling words.
Usage
用于形容牵强附会，不自然。
Used to describe something as forced and unnatural.
Examples
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他硬要将两者联系起来，真是生拉硬扯。
tā yìng yào jiāng liǎng zhě liánxì qǐlái, zhēnshi shēng lā yìng chě zhè piān wénzhāng lùnzhèng qiānqiáng, shēng lā yìng chě, quēfá shuō fú lì
He insisted on connecting the two, which was really far-fetched.
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这篇文章论证牵强，生拉硬扯，缺乏说服力。
The article's argument is weak and far-fetched, lacking persuasiveness.