脱颖而出
- Literal
- the tip pokes out and emerges
- Figurative
- To suddenly stand out from the crowd, revealing a talent that had gone unnoticed until then.
Where does 脱颖而出 come from?
When the state of Qin laid siege to Zhao, Lord Pingyuan sought twenty talented men for a diplomatic mission to Chu, but could find only nineteen. An obscure retainer named Mao Sui volunteered himself. Pingyuan hesitated, saying that a truly able man is like an awl in a bag: its point pokes through at once, yet Mao Sui had spent three years in his house unnoticed. Mao Sui answered that this was only because he had never been put in the bag at all; had he been, not just the tip but the whole point would have shown. He was taken along, and before the king of Chu his eloquence sealed the alliance that saved Zhao.
Source (出处): 《史记·平原君虞卿列传》
How is 脱颖而出 used? Two examples
- 他在这次比赛中脱颖而出，拿到了第一名。
He stood out in this competition and took first place.
- 想在这么多人里脱颖而出，你得有自己的特点。
If you want to stand out among so many people, you need something that sets you apart.
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