Pick a kettle for your enemy
Q:There is an old Chinese saying, “pick the kettle that is not boiled (哪壶不开提哪壶)”. Where did it come from?
A:It’s said that a father and a son ran a teahouse (茶馆) long ago. Thanks to their hard work, it did well. However, a local official (当地官员) who was corrupt (腐败的) came to drink tea without paying every day. The father and son were angry, but afraid to say anything. One day, the father got sick and asked his son to take care of the teahouse. The official came as usual. But the son served (服务) him cold tea – the water was not boiled (煮沸). The official complained (抱怨) a bit, but the son said the water was boiled. After that, the official stopped coming to the teahouse. After the father got well and came back, he asked his son, “Why didn’t the official come?” The son said, “When I made tea for him, I picked the kettle (水壶) that was not boiled.”The story and the saying behind it are well-known. People say it to mean doing or saying something that embarrasses (使……尴尬) someone else.
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