付诸东流 (fù zhū dōng liú) — all efforts are wasted; to come to nothing; to be irrevocably lost
Definition
A chengyu meaning hard work or plans are completely lost forever, like water flowing east and gone for good. Stronger than simply "failing" — it stresses the irreversible loss.
idiom
all efforts are wastedto come to nothingto be irrevocably lost
Examples
- 付诸东流。Tā de xīn xuè fù zhū dōng liú le.His hard work went to waste.
- 付诸东流。Zhè cì shī bài shǐ suǒ yǒu de jì huà fù zhū dōng liú.This failure caused all the plans to come to nothing.
- 付诸东流。Duō nián de nǔ lì yīn wèi yì chǎng dà huǒ fù zhū dōng liú.Years of effort went up in smoke because of a big fire.
Appears in
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