毒蛇爬竹竿，又绞又滑毒蛇爬竹竿，又絞又滑毒蛇爬竹竿，又絞又滑

a venomous snake climbing a bamboo pole: it twists and it's slippery

Saying俗语俗語

Two-part saying歇后语歇後語 · Rarely used now

Meaning: Describes a person who is very cunning and crafty. Critical.
Wordplay: 绞 jiǎo (twist) sounds like 狡 jiǎo (cunning), and 滑 huá (slippery) sounds like 猾 huá (crafty), so the snake's actions describe a sly person.

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Simplified: 毒蛇爬竹竿，又绞又滑
Traditional (Taiwan): 毒蛇爬竹竿，又絞又滑
Pinyin: dúshé pá zhúgān, yòu jiǎo yòu huá
Bopomofo: ㄉㄨˊ ㄕㄜˊ ㄆㄚˊ ㄓㄨˊ ㄍㄢ，ㄧㄡˋ ㄐㄧㄠˇ ㄧㄡˋ ㄏㄨㄚˊ

Written with HSK 7-9 vocabulary, at CEFR level C1.

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