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大出风头 (dà chū fēng tóu) — to steal the show; to cut a dashing figure

Definition

A colloquial idiom meaning to stand out and attract the most attention in a group — 'steal the show / cut a dashing figure.' Often implies showing off or being the center of admiration.

verb
to steal the showto cut a dashing figure

Examples

  • 。
    Tā zài zhè cì bǐ sài zhōng dà chū fēng tóu.
    He stole the show in this competition.
  • 。
    Tā dà chū guò yí cì fēng tou.
    He once stole the show.
  • 大出风头。
    Dà jiā dōu xǐ huan kàn tā dà chū fēng tóu.
    Everyone likes to watch him steal the show.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

Open 出 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu頭tóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Open 头 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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