网开一面
- Literal
- the net open on one side
- Figurative
- To go easy on someone who has slipped up, leaving them a way out instead of the full penalty; common when asking for leniency.
Where does 网开一面 come from?
The 《史记》 tells it in the annals of the Yin. Tang, future founder of the Shang dynasty, saw a man in the countryside who had spread nets on all four sides and was praying that everything coming from any direction would fall in. Tang said that would wipe everything out, had three sides taken down, and prayed in turn: let whatever wished to go left go left, whatever wished to go right go right, and let only the disobedient fall in. The feudal lords praised a virtue that reached even the beasts. The text speaks of three sides; the saying settled as 网开一面.
Source (出处): 《史记·殷本纪》
How is 网开一面 used? Two examples
- 这次迟交作业是因为生病，老师能不能网开一面？
I handed in my homework late this time because I was sick; could you make an exception, just this once?
- 他是初犯，交警网开一面，只给了个警告。
It was his first offense, so the traffic officer let him off with a warning.
In Wanyu, all 400 chengyu have audio on every sentence, and you can save them to your decks and review them with spaced repetition. Free.
