赞不绝口
- Literal
- praise without the mouth ceasing
- Figurative
- To be full of praise and keep raving, like someone who can't stop complimenting a meal, a piece of work or a person.
Where does 赞不绝口 come from?
It does not come from a specific anecdote; the image speaks for itself. 赞 means "to praise," 绝 "to cut off, to break off" and 口 "mouth": the praise never gets cut off in the mouth, it keeps on coming. It follows a common pattern in written Chinese, where 不绝 with 口 describes something said over and over without a pause (compare 骂不绝口, "to keep on cursing"). The subject is usually the people who have tried or seen something and been delighted by it: 吃过的人都赞不绝口.
How is 赞不绝口 used? Two examples
- 奶奶做的红烧肉，来家里吃过的朋友都赞不绝口。
Every friend who has come over and tried Grandma's red-braised pork has raved about it.
- 专家们参观了新建的图书馆，对它的设计赞不绝口。
The experts toured the new library and couldn't stop praising its design.
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