撂挑子 (liào tiāo zi) — to quit one's job or abandon a responsibility in a huff; to throw in the towel

Definition

A vivid colloquial phrase meaning to walk off the job or abandon a duty in anger or frustration. Stronger than just 'quitting' — it implies doing so petulantly, mid-task.

verb
to quit one's job or abandon a responsibility in a huffto throw in the towel

Examples

  • ，撂挑子。
    Tā yīn wèi bù mǎn yì gōng sī de zhèng cè, zhí jiē liào tiāo zi le.
    He quit in a huff because he was dissatisfied with the company's policies.
  • ，。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù cái zuò dào yí bàn, tā jiù liào le tiāo zi.
    He abandoned the project halfway through.
  • 撂挑子。
    Dà jiā dōu bú yuàn yì zài guān jiàn shí kè liào tiāo zi.
    Nobody wants to throw in the towel at a critical moment.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

撂liàothrow down
挑子carrying pole
挑tiāocarry on shoulder子zǐsuffix

撂 means to throw down and 挑子 means a carrying pole, so the image is dropping one's burden.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 撂 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
兆
兆zhào挑tiāo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

挑 has 手, meaning hand, and 兆, which gives the sound.

Open 挑 →

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

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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