念紧箍咒

Traditional (Taiwan): 念緊箍咒

niànjǐngūzhòu ㄋㄧㄢˋ ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄍㄨ ㄓㄡˋ

    • to rein someone in
    • to force someone to comply

Character by character

Saying俗语俗語

Idiom惯用语 · Widely known

Literally
chant the tight-fillet spell
Meaning
To rein someone in or force them to comply. From Journey to the West, where the monk Tang Sanzang chants a spell that tightens a band on Sun Wukong's head.

Sources