不了了之
- Literal
- unsettled, taken as settled
- Figurative
- To let a matter fizzle out unresolved, quietly shelving it; not giving up halfway on an effort, but letting the problem die away.
Where does 不了了之 come from?
It does not come from a specific anecdote: it plays on the verb 了, read here as liǎo and meaning "to finish, to settle," not the particle le. 不了 is "unsettled" and 了之 "to settle it": the matter is closed precisely by leaving it open. The picture is of a problem nobody solves that, over time, simply stops being mentioned. It usually carries a critical tone, especially in the press, when an investigation, a complaint, or a promise peters out without anyone being held to account.
How is 不了了之 used? Two examples
- 说好要一起去旅行，后来谁也没再提，就不了了之了。
We agreed to take a trip together, but nobody brought it up again, and the whole thing just fizzled out.
- 那起事故的调查拖了半年，最后不了了之。
The investigation into that accident dragged on for six months and was eventually dropped with nothing resolved.
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