| 割韭菜 |
gē jiǔ cài |
(fig.) (coll.) to fleece a group of people repeatedly (esp. small investors, consumers or fans), treating them as an endlessly renewable resource to harvest for profit |
| 割 |
gē |
to cut / to cut apart |
| 韭 |
jiǔ |
leek |
| 韭 |
jiǔ |
variant of 韭 |
| 韭菜 |
jiǔ cài |
garlic chives (Allium tuberosum), aka Chinese chives / (coll.) naive or easily exploited people (esp. small investors or consumers), likened to chives that can be repeatedly harvested for profit |
| 菜 |
cài |
vegetable; greens (CL:棵) / dish (of food) (CL:样,道,盘) / (of one's skills etc) weak; poor / (coll.) (one's) type |