DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

剃頭挑子一頭熱

简剃头挑子一头热 · 繁剃頭挑子一頭熱

Mandarin · pinyin tì tóu tiāo zi yī tóu rè

lit. only one end of the barber's pole is hot (idiom)
fig. one-sided enthusiasm
one party is interested, but the other, not so much
(Note: In former days, street barbers carried their equipment on a pole, with tools and a stool at one end and a brazier at the other.)

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Characters in this entry

剃: tì · shave
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
挑: tiāo · a load carried on the shoulders; to carry
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
一: yī · one; a, an; alone
熱: rè · hot; heat; fever; restless; zeal
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
热: rè · hot; heat; fever; restless; zeal

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2–1–5–1–2–4 · ti4 tou2 tiao1 zi5 yi1 tou2 re4

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Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

剃頭挑子一頭熱 · find source passages ↗ · 剃头挑子一头热 · find source passages ↗

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