take sb. by surprise

take sb. by surprise

The Chinese idiom, Pinyin, is y ǎ NQ í B ù B è I, which means to make a surprise attack when the enemy is unprepared. It comes from the biography of Liu huaizhen.

The origin of Idioms

In the biography of Liu huaizhen in the book of the Southern Qi Dynasty, it is said that "today's small grain list, I am hanging on the other side, so I should be simple and sharp, and hide my surprise."

Idiom usage

Chapter 10 of the officialdom reform: "when you arrive at the third watch, you will be unprepared and break into the Mituo Temple together. No matter what the monks and customs are, if you see one, take one."