Thinking of plums to quench one’s thirst, the metaphor is to comfort oneself or others with empty thoughts when one’s wishes cannot be realized.
Idiom Pronunciation:
望梅止渴
wàng méi zhǐ kě
Origin book:
《世说新语·假谲》：“魏武行役，失汲道，军皆渴，乃令曰：‘前有大梅林，饶子，甘酸可以解渴。’士卒闻之，口皆出水，乘此得及前源。”
Origin Story:
One summer, Cao Cao led his troops to invade Zhang Xiu. The weather was surprisingly hot, the sun was like fire, and there was not a cloud in the sky, the troops were walking on the winding mountain road, the dense trees on both sides and the sun-burned rocks made people breathless. By noon, the soldiers’ clothes were soaked through, the marching speed also slowed down, and a few frail soldiers actually fainted on the side of the road.
Cao Cao saw that the marching speed was getting slower and slower, and he was worried about missing the opportunity to fight. However, how could he speed up when tens of thousands of men and horses could not even drink water? He immediately called his guide and asked him quietly, “Is there a water source around here?” The guide shook his head and said, “The spring is on the other side of the valley, and there is still a long way to go around.” Cao Cao thought for a moment and said, “No, there’s not enough time.” He looked at the woods in front of him, pondered for a moment, and said to the guide, “Don’t say anything, I’ll think of a way.” He knew that even an order to speed up the troops would not help at this moment. He quickly rushed to the front of the group and pointed ahead with his whip, saying, “Soldiers, I know there is a large plum forest ahead, where the plums are big and delicious, let’s hurry up and go around this hill to reach the plum forest!”
Soldiers heard, as if plums have been eaten in the mouth, mouth secretion saliva, spirits, the pace can not help but speed up a lot.
Similar Idioms:
- 画饼充饥
