強龍不壓地頭蛇

qiánglóngbùyādìtóushé ㄑㄧㄤˊ ㄌㄨㄥˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄧㄚ ㄉㄧˋ ㄊㄡˊ ㄕㄜˊ

    • lit. strong dragon cannot repress a snake (idiom) fig. a local gangster who is above the law

Character by character

Saying俗语俗語

Proverb谚语諺語 · In everyday use

Literally
a mighty dragon does not crush the local snake
Meaning
Even a powerful outsider should not take on entrenched local forces, as he will probably lose. Used as a caution when entering someone else's territory; similar to 'when in Rome...'.

Sources