金蝉脱壳 (jīn chán tuō qiào) — to escape by leaving a decoy behind; a clever getaway
Definition
A chengyu from the story of a cicada shedding its shell to escape predators — used for slipping away cleverly, leaving a decoy or false trail behind.
idiom
to escape by leaving a decoy behinda clever getaway
Examples
- 金蝉脱壳，。Tā yòng le yì zhāo jīn chán tuō qiào, chèn dà jiā bú zhù yì qiāo qiāo lí kāi le.He used the 'golden cicada sheds its shell' trick and slipped away while no one was paying attention.
- ，金蝉脱壳，。Dí rén fā xiàn shí, tā men zǎo yǐ jīn chán tuō qiào, zhī liú xià kōng zhàng peng.By the time the enemy noticed, they had already slipped away, leaving only empty tents behind.
- 金蝉脱壳，。Zhè ge jì huà shì jīn chán tuō qiào, biǎo miàn chè tuì shí jì zhuǎn yí.This plan is a 'golden cicada sheds its shell' — a retreat in appearance but actually a redeployment.
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