1. Home
  2. Dictionary

钻牛角尖

Traditional (Taiwan): 鑽牛角尖

zuānniújiǎojiān ㄗㄨㄢ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄐㄧㄠˇ ㄐㄧㄢ

    • lit. to penetrate into a bull's horn (idiom) fig. to waste time on an insoluble or insignificant problem
    • to bash one's head against a brick wall
    • a wild goose chase
    • a blind alley
    • to split hairs

Character by character

Saying俗语俗語

Idiom惯用语 · In everyday use

Literally
to bore into the tip of an ox horn
Meaning
To be stubborn and fixed on one idea, or to obsess over a trivial or unsolvable problem. Mildly critical. Close to 'splitting hairs' or 'going down a rabbit hole'.

Sources