Idiom Explanation:
None of the senses are unobstructed or it’s all Greek to somebody, It is a derogatory term, generally used to sarcastically describe the stupidity and confusion of others, but also to describe one’s own ignorance.
Pronunciation:
一窍不通
yī qiào bù tōng
origin:
《吕氏春秋·贵直论·过理》：“杀比干而视其心，不适也。孔子闻之曰：‘其窍通，则比干不死矣。‘”
story:
During the Shang Dynasty, there was a very cruel king called King Zhou, who loved his concubine Daji so much that he drank and had fun with her all day long, not caring about the country or the people’s lives! He also listened to Daji and killed many loyal subjects and innocent people.
One day, King Zhou’s uncle, Bi Gan, could not stand it and advised him, “You! You should not keep on indulging in wine, and you should not kill the loyal officials and the innocent people. When Daji found out, she was very upset: “This Bi Gan is really nosy, he dares to meddle in my business and the king’s. I must teach him a lesson!
Daji ran to King Zhou and said, “Your Majesty! If Bigan is really a loyal subject, why don’t you ask him to cut open his chest and offer his heart and liver to you?” When King Zhou heard Daji’s words, he said, “Right! I can ask Bigan to give me his heart. Daji is so clever!” King Zhou immediately ordered Bi Gan to die by cutting his chest open.
Later, this incident was recorded in the book “Lü Shi Chun Qiu”, which reads, “Killing Bigan and looking at his heart was uncomfortable. Confucius heard of it and said: ‘If his orifice is open, then Bigan will not die.'” Gao Ying Note: “Zhou’s unkind nature, heart does not work, resting in for evil, kill Bigan, so Confucius said its one orifice pass then Bigan do not see kill also.” It means that if King Zhou’s heart had been clear, he would not have done something stupid and killed Bigan! Later, people derived the idiom of “one trick” from this phrase.
Similar Idioms:
- 一无所知
