# 马尾提豆腐——提不起来



## Starflying

Hi All,

My friend asks me to translate this “歇后语,” I find it so difficult. How should I translate this sentence? Do you have any good idea? Please help.


孩子不喜欢念书，每次一让他写作业，他就如马尾提豆腐一样——提不起来。


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## 2PieRad

Haha. 马尾提豆腐。 I'm not familiar with that one. But, how about: _To drag one's feet_?


> Idioms *drag one's feet* or  *heels,* to act with reluctance;
> delay:The committee is dragging its feet coming to a decision.


drag feet - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

"Stop dragging your feet and finish your homework now!"


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## Starflying

Hi Erebos, it seems to be quite a good suggestion! Thanks a lot! That does help!


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## SuperXW

The key scenario of this 歇后语 is that even though the person is being pulled (i.e. getting supported in a frustrated or incompetent status), USUALLY BY SOMEONE ELSE, it is still useless(like a piece of bean-curd cannot be dragged up with any string).

To make it simple: 提不起来=别人提不起来他.

In the original sentence, 让他写作业 is what SOMEONE ELSE demand him/her to do. I'm afraid "drag someone(oneself)'s feet" can't replace the 歇后语 in most contexts.


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## 2PieRad

Ah, 你就是说马尾是你， 而不愿意念书的孩子是块豆腐.

Then, how about "it's like pulling teeth."

Searching thread titles doesn't yield anything in the English Only forum, but in the French-English forum, you'll find this: it's like pulling teeth

Post #1


> In English we also use it figuratively to mean, it is very hard to get someone to complete a task. "It's like pulling teeth to get her to do her homework".


Post #13


> "It's like pulling teeth to get her to do her homework". Je parviens avec difficulté à faire travailler certains de mes élèves.


(Rough translation: I have a hard time making some of my students do their work.)

Edit:所以，你叫孩子做作业就像你是牙医想拔牙那样费劲.


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## SuperXW

Erebos12345 said:


> Ah, 你就是说马尾是你， 而不愿意念书的孩子是块豆腐.
> Then, how about "it's like pulling teeth."
> ...
> Edit:所以，你叫孩子做作业就像你是牙医想拔牙那样费劲.


Looks like a very nice one! My English is limited so I can't give any good suggestion. Thank you!


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## brofeelgood

「每次一让他写作业，他就如马尾提豆腐一样——提不起来。」……

「提不起来」是「提不起劲」的意思吗?  If so, then it means 'to be listless, unmotivated or unfocused'.

'Like pulling teeth' is a graphic way of saying something is dreaded or undesirable. You could also compare the situation to 'Getting blood out of a stone' or 'Selling ice to an Eskimo'. Both expressions can be used to highlight the difficulty of the task, but not so much the lack of interest on the child's part.


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## retrogradedwithwind

我总觉得原句用得有问题。
马尾穿豆腐，提不起来。

正确的用法是这样的：
你说的这事啊，那是马尾穿豆腐——提不起来。一说就让人糟心。

这个提，是提到（某个人某个事）的提。


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## SuperXW

是吗？？我小时候老师经常用“马尾（yi3）穿豆腐——提溜(方言 di1liu0)不起来”形容某个同学，等同于“烂泥扶不上墙”……
而且我一直以为她说的是“蚂蚁穿豆腐”，今天才理解是马尾……


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## retrogradedwithwind

@SuperXW 你的用法应该也可以。但楼主的用法是有问题的。

我就听过尾yi3巴，没注意过有没有马尾yi3猪尾yi3这样的说法……话说尾yi巴还挺常见的。


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## Starflying

Thank you for your comments, all. I may suggest my friend to revise the Chinese.


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## kamitk

It means you can never use string to carry up a tofu. Just means something impossible.
About 歇后语, it's just an amusing way to state facts using similar outcomes or similar pronunciations:
For example: 外甥打灯笼---照(舅)旧
Let me make one 歇后语 in English, He seems to be from 'Alaska', because he always say 'I'll ask her.'.


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## 東山響馬

（歇後語）提不起。因為馬尾巴和馬頸上的毛，是無法提起豆腐的。比喻一個人意志薄弱，依賴性強。如：「人家說東，你就東；人家說西，你就西，難怪別人說你是馬尾兒穿豆腐──提不起。」也作「馬尾中鬃豆腐」。


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