打草惊蛇
- Literal
- to beat the grass and startle the snake
- Figurative
- To act clumsily or too soon and tip off the very person you meant to catch off guard.
Where does 打草惊蛇 come from?
The anecdote is recorded by Zheng Wenbao in 《南唐近事》, a collection of episodes from the Southern Tang court. Wang Lu, magistrate of Dangtu county, had a reputation for taking what wasn't his. One day the locals filed a joint complaint against his clerk for accepting bribes, and reading it Wang Lu saw himself in every line: the list of abuses was his own as well. Without realizing what he was admitting, he wrote at the foot of the complaint, as his official verdict: “汝虽打草，吾已蛇惊” ("though you have only beaten the grass, I, the snake, am already startled"). The same image also appears among the Thirty-Six Stratagems.
Source (出处): 郑文宝《南唐近事》
How is 打草惊蛇 used? Two examples
- 先别问他，问了就打草惊蛇，他会把东西藏起来。
Don't ask him yet — that would tip him off, and he'd hide everything.
- 我们再等两天，先别打草惊蛇。
Let's wait another couple of days and not tip our hand just yet.
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