滥竽充数
- Literal
- playing the yu (a mouth-organ) badly just to fill out the count of players
- Figurative
- To pass oneself off as qualified without the skill; to fill a quota or make up the numbers with someone or something second-rate.
Where does 滥竽充数 come from?
King Xuan of Qi loved to hear the yu played by three hundred musicians at once. A man named Nanguo, who could not play at all, slipped into the ensemble and drew his salary hidden among the rest. When the king died, his successor King Min preferred to hear them one by one; fearing exposure, Nanguo fled.
Source (出处): 《韩非子》
How is 滥竽充数 used? Two examples
- 他根本不懂技术，在团队里只是滥竽充数罢了。
He knows nothing about tech; on the team he is just making up the numbers.
- 这次招人要严格把关，绝不能让滥竽充数的人混进来。
This time we must screen candidates strictly and let no incompetent pretenders slip in.
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