ulterior motive; hidden agenda
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesidiom
to have an ulterior motive; to have a hidden agenda; lit. the drinker's heart is not in the cup
literaryDerived from Ouyang Xiu's 'The Old Drunkard's Pavilion' (醉翁亭记). Originally described enjoying landscape rather than wine, now used to indicate one's real intention lies elsewhere.
Tā他
shuō说
lái来
bāng帮
máng忙
，
qí其
shí实
shì是
zuì醉
wēng翁
zhī之
yì意
bù不
zài在
jiǔ酒
，
xiǎng想
jiē接
jìn近
wǒ我
nǚ女
ér儿
。
He said he came to help, but actually he had an ulterior motive—he wanted to get close to my daughter.
Lǎo老
bǎn板
qǐng请
dà大
jiā家
chī吃
fàn饭
，
dàn但
zuì醉
wēng翁
zhī之
yì意
bù不
zài在
jiǔ酒
，
shì是
xiǎng想
tǎo讨
lùn论
zhōu周
mò末
jiā加
bān班
de的
shì事
。
The boss treated everyone to dinner, but his heart wasn't in the meal—he wanted to discuss working overtime on weekends.
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Tā他
sòng送
zhè这
me么
guì贵
de的
lǐ礼
wù物
，
zuì醉
wēng翁
zhī之
yì意
bù不
zài在
jiǔ酒
，
yī一
dìng定
yǒu有
qiú求
yú于
nǐ你
。
He gave such an expensive gift with an ulterior motive—he must want something from you.
Zhè这
piān篇
píng评
lùn论
kàn看
sì似
zài在
tán谈
diàn电
yǐng影
，
shí实
zé则
zuì醉
wēng翁
zhī之
yì意
bù不
zài在
jiǔ酒
，
shì是
zài在
fěng讽
cì刺
shè社
huì会
xiàn现
xiàng象
。
This review appears to be about cinema, but its real intention lies elsewhere—it is actually satirizing social phenomena.