走马观花
- Literal
- to look at the flowers from a trotting horse
- Figurative
- To take something in quickly and from a distance, keeping only the surface impression without really getting to know it.
Where does 走马观花 come from?
Dictionaries trace the image to a poem by the Tang poet Meng Jiao, written when he finally passed the imperial examination after years of trying: flushed with the spring wind and with his horse's hooves flying, he says, he saw all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day. There the haste was pure elation. Once the phrase settled into an idiom the sense flipped: today it describes someone who goes through something so fast that only the surface sticks, and it usually carries a hint of reproach or apology.
Source (出处): 孟郊《登科后》
How is 走马观花 used? Two examples
- 三天跑五个城市，只能走马观花。
Five cities in three days — there's no time for more than a quick once-over.
- 这本书不能走马观花地看，得慢慢读。
You can't skim this book at a gallop; you have to read it slowly.
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