Definition
This is a chengyu (four-character idiom) meaning that all previous efforts have been wasted and nothing is achieved. Literally 'to put into the eastward flow' (like water flowing east, never to return), it conveys a sense of irreversible loss or futility.
f.e.
all efforts are wastedto come to nothingto be irrevocably lost
Examples
- 付诸东流。Tā de xīnxuè fù zhū dōng liú le.His hard work went to waste.
- 付诸东流。Zhè cì shībài shǐ suǒyǒu de jìhuà fù zhū dōng liú.This failure caused all the plans to come to nothing.
- 付诸东流。Duō nián de nǔlì yīnwèi yì chǎng dàhuǒ fù zhū dōng liú.Years of effort went up in smoke because of a big fire.
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