天方夜谭 (tiān fāng yè tán) — Arabian Nights (the story collection); absurd story; far-fetched tale; highly suspect account
Definition
A chengyu that literally names the Arabian Nights but is used almost entirely today to mean a 'far-fetched, unbelievable story' — like English 'a tall tale.'
noun
Arabian Nights (the story collection)absurd storyfar-fetched talehighly suspect account
Examples
- 天方夜谭。tiān fāng yè tán Shì ā lā bó zhù míng de mín jiān gù shi jí.The Arabian Nights is a famous collection of Arab folk tales.
- 天方夜谭，。Tā shuō de huà jiǎn zhí jiù shì tiān fāng yè tán, méi rén huì xiāng xìn.What he said is just an absurd story — nobody will believe it.
- 天方夜谭。Bié ná zhè zhǒng tiān fāng yè tán lái piàn wǒ le.Don't try to fool me with this kind of tall tale.
Appears in
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