each one worse than the last; steady decline
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesidiom
each one is worse than the previous; going steadily downhill; a progressive decline in quality
Originally from the Song Dynasty text 《艾子杂说》(attributed to Su Shi), describing crabs that got progressively smaller. Used to compare items, people, or performances across time or groups, indicating deterioration.
Zhè这
jǐ几
jiè届
de的
xué学
sheng生
，
zhēn真
shì是
yī一
xiè蟹
bù不
rú如
yī一
xiè蟹
。
The students from these past few years are really getting worse with each batch.
Xiàn现
zài在
de的
diàn电
yǐng影
zhì质
liàng量
yī一
xiè蟹
bù不
rú如
yī一
xiè蟹
。
The quality of movies nowadays is going from bad to worse.
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Zhè这
jǐ几
jiā家
cān餐
tīng厅
bǐ比
qǐ起
lái来
，
zhēn真
shì是
yī一
xiè蟹
bù不
rú如
yī一
xiè蟹
。
Comparing these few restaurants, each one is worse than the last.
Gōng公
sī司
de的
yè业
jì绩
yī一
xiè蟹
bù不
rú如
yī一
xiè蟹
，
lìng令
rén人
dān担
yōu忧
。
The company's performance has been declining steadily, which is worrying.