rob Peter to pay Paul; a harmful makeshift solution
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesidiom
to resort to a harmful solution to address an immediate crisis; a makeshift remedy that exacerbates the overall situation; to rob Peter to pay Paul
This idiom literally means 'cutting flesh from one's own body to heal a wound.' It metaphorically describes dealing with an urgent problem by adopting methods that cause greater harm or loss in the long run, such as using new debts to pay off old ones.
Yòng用
jiè借
kuǎn款
lái来
huán还
zhài债
，
wú无
yì异
yú于
wān剜
ròu肉
yī医
chuāng疮
。
Using loans to pay off debts is no different from robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Zhè这
zhǒng种
wān剜
ròu肉
yī医
chuāng疮
de的
zuò做
fǎ法
，
zhǐ只
huì会
shǐ使
gōng公
sī司
de的
cái财
wù务
zhuàng状
kuàng况
gèng更
jiā加
è恶
huà化
。
This kind of makeshift solution will only worsen the company's financial situation further.
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Wèi为
le了
yìng应
fù付
běn本
yuè月
de的
kāi开
zhī支
ér而
tòu透
zhī支
xìn信
yòng用
kǎ卡
，
jiǎn简
zhí直
shì是
wān剜
ròu肉
yī医
chuāng疮
。
Overdrawing your credit card to cover this month's expenses is simply a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Bié别
wā挖
ròu肉
bǔ补
chuāng疮
le了
，
hái还
shì是
xiǎng想
bàn办
fǎ法
zēng增
jiā加
shōu收
rù入
ba吧
。
Stop using stopgap measures that cause more harm; think of ways to increase revenue instead.