散兵游勇 (sǎn bīng yóu yǒng) — (literally) straggling troops, scattered soldiers; (figuratively) people not belonging to an organized group; independent operators; stragglers
Definition
An idiom for 'stragglers' — originally soldiers separated from their unit, now used for people or groups drifting without organization. Carries a slightly negative tone of disorder or unreliability.
idiom
(literally) straggling troopsscattered soldiers(figuratively) people not belonging to an organized groupindependent operatorsstragglers
Examples
- 散兵游勇，。Zhè xiē sǎn bīng yóu yǒng yuán lái dōu shì tuì wǔ jūn rén, xiàn zài sì chù piāo bó.These scattered troops were all former soldiers, now drifting around.
- 散兵游勇。Gōng sī lǐ de yì xiē sǎn bīng yóu yǒng zǒng shì gēn bú shàng xiàng mù jié zòu.Some of the stragglers in the company always can't keep up with the project pace.
- 散兵游勇，。Zhè ge shè qū yóu gè zhǒng sǎn bīng yóu yǒng zǔ chéng, quē fá tǒng yī de guǎn lǐ.This community is made up of all sorts of scattered elements, lacking unified management.
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