喧宾夺主 (xuān bīn duó zhǔ) — to steal the show; to let the secondary overshadow the primary; (of a detail, decoration, etc.) to be so prominent that it overwhelms the main focus
Definition
A chéngyǔ for when the supporting or decorative part ("the guest") is so loud it drowns out the main point ("the host") — used to warn that details, background, or a minor element is overwhelming the focus.
idiom
to steal the showto let the secondary overshadow the primary(of a detail, decoration, etc.) to be so prominent that it overwhelms the main focus
Examples
- ，喧宾夺主。Zhè ge bào gào de zhǔ tí bù tū chū, cì yào shù jù wán quán xuān bīn duó zhǔ le.The report's theme isn't prominent — the secondary data completely stole the show.
- ，喧宾夺主。Shè jì guǎng gào shí yào zhù yì, bù néng ràng bèi jǐng tú àn xuān bīn duó zhǔ.When designing an ad, be careful not to let the background pattern overshadow the main message.
- ，喧宾夺主。Tā men zài huì shàng tǎo lùn xì jié tài duō, yǒu xuān bīn duó zhǔ zhī xián.They spent too much time on details in the meeting, which risked letting the trivial outweigh the important.
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