包治百病
bāo zhì bǎi bìng
to claim to cure every ailment; a cure-all (usually ironic)
Character by character
包bāo
guarantee
guarantee
治zhì
cure
cure
百bǎi
hundred
hundred
病bìng
illnesses
illnesses
Example
街头小广告上的“神药”号称包治百病，千万别信。
The “miracle drugs” on street flyers claim to cure everything; don’t believe a word of it.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
Once the patter of street hawkers and travelling quacks (江湖郎中); now ironic about any remedy, product or policy that is oversold, often in the negative: 世上没有包治百病的药, 改革不是包治百病的灵丹妙药.
Learn this in Lesson 155 · HSK 7–9: 吊瓶大国 (A nation of IV drips)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
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