when the nest is overturned, no egg is unbroken; shared destruction
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken; fig. when the whole is destroyed, the individual cannot survive
literaryOften used to describe situations where a collective disaster affects all members, leaving no one unscathed. Derived from a historical anecdote in 《世说新语》.
Dí敌
jūn军
gōng攻
pò破
chéng城
chí池
,
mǎn满
chéng城
bǎi百
xìng姓
zāo遭
yāng殃
,
zhēn真
shì是
fù覆
cháo巢
wú无
wán完
luǎn卵
。
When the enemy army breached the city, all the people suffered disaster; truly, when the nest is overturned, no egg is unbroken.
Gōng公
sī司
yī一
dàn旦
pò破
chǎn产
,
suǒ所
yǒu有
yuán员
gōng工
dōu都
jiāng将
shī失
yè业
,
fù覆
cháo巢
zhī之
xià下
wú无
wán完
luǎn卵
。
Once the company goes bankrupt, all employees will lose their jobs; when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.
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Zài在
nà那
gè个
dòng动
dàng荡
de的
nián年
dài代
,
jiā家
zú族
bài败
luò落
,
chéng成
yuán员
sì四
sàn散
,
zhèng正
yìng应
le了
fù覆
cháo巢
wú无
wán完
luǎn卵
de的
gǔ古
xùn训
。
In those turbulent times, the family declined and its members scattered, embodying the old saying that when the nest is overturned, no egg is unbroken.