扬眉吐气
yáng méi tǔ qì
to feel proud and vindicated at last
Character by character
扬yáng
raise
raise
眉méi
brows
brows
吐tǔ
let out
let out
气qì
breath
breath
Example
这次终于赢了，大家都觉得扬眉吐气。
Winning at last, everyone felt they could hold their heads high.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
Said after a long time of being looked down on or held back.
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