掰芽子

bāiyázi ㄅㄞ ㄧㄚˊ ˙ㄗ

    • to stamp out bad things at the start
    • to nip in the bud

Character by character

Saying俗语俗語

Idiom惯用语 · Rarely used now

Literally
snapping off the buds
Meaning
Stamping out bad things while they are only beginning. Like 'nip it in the bud'.

Sources