兴师动众 (xīng) — (chengyu) to mobilize a large number of people, often unnecessarily; to make a big fuss
Definition
A chengyu meaning to mobilize a large group of people, often unnecessarily, for a trivial task — it carries a negative tone of 'making a big fuss'. The 动 'stir up' and 众 'crowd' together flag the excess, not just the scale.
idiom
(chengyu) to mobilize a large number of peopleoften unnecessarilyto make a big fuss
Examples
- ，兴师动众？Tā bān jiā zhǐ bú guò jǐ jiàn xíng li, hé bì xīng dì jiào lái shí jǐ gè rén?He's only moving a few pieces of luggage — why did he have to mobilize a crowd and call over a dozen people?
- ，兴师动众。Zhè jiàn xiǎo shì wǒ men liǎng gè rén jiù néng jiě jué, bú yòng xīng.This small matter can be handled by the two of us; there's no need to make a big fuss.
- 兴师动众，。Gōng sī wèi le yí gè jiǎn dān de huó dòng jiù xīng, jié guǒ làng fèi le hěn duō zī yuán.The company mobilized too many people for a simple event, and as a result wasted a lot of resources.
Appears in
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