drain the pond to get all the fish; kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesidiom
to drain the pond to catch all the fish; to be shortsighted; to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs
formalUsed to criticize unsustainable practices in economics, resource management, environmental policy, or personal behavior that sacrifices future benefits for immediate gains.
Guò过
dù度
kāi开
cǎi采
kuàng矿
chǎn产
zī资
yuán源
shì是
jié竭
zé泽
ér而
yú渔
de的
zuò做
fǎ法
。
Over-exploiting mineral resources is like draining the pond to get the fish.
Wǒ我
men们
bù不
néng能
wèi为
le了
zhuī追
qiú求
duǎn短
qī期
lì利
rùn润
ér而
jié竭
zé泽
ér而
yú渔
。
We should not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs for the sake of short-term profit.
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Zài在
jiào教
yù育
shang上
jiǎn减
shǎo少
tóu投
zī资
wú无
yì异
yú于
jié竭
zé泽
ér而
yú渔
。
Cutting investment in education is tantamount to being shortsighted and unsustainable.
Zhèng政
fǔ府
bì必
xū须
zhì制
dìng定
zhèng政
cè策
，
fáng防
zhǐ止
duì对
qǐ企
yè业
jié竭
zé泽
ér而
yú渔
。
The government must set policies to prevent unsustainable exploitation of enterprises.