指桑骂槐

zhǐ sāng mà huái

to scold one person while aiming at another

Character by character

指zhǐ
point at

桑sāng
the mulberry

骂mà
curse

槐huái
the locust tree

她表面上在说孩子，其实是指桑骂槐，说给丈夫听的。

On the surface she was scolding the child; in fact it was aimed at her husband.

Tone: negative (criticism).

One of the Thirty-Six Stratagems.

Learn this in Lesson 213 · HSK 9+: 弦外之音 (What is left unsaid)

A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.