脚底抹油－开溜 translate into English

Question

Can someone help me to translate 脚底抹油－开溜 because when I'm using google translate the sentence is so weird.

This kind of expression is known as 歇后语 in Chinese: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiehouyu — Harry Summer, Jul 17 '17 at 14:30

score 4 · Accepted Answer · 2014-09-04T03:48:51.867

4

If something bad happened, you can 脚底抹油 (put oil on the sole of foot) , and then 开溜 (start to slip away quickly).

In short, it means expeditious retreat.

BTW: Here's another statement as 脚底抹油 - 溜之大吉, which has a similar meaning.

edited Sep 04 '14 at 03:48

answered Sep 04 '14 at 02:26

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 04 '14 at 04:13

1

This phrase is a Chinese idiom that simply means to escape or to avoid (from negative consequences/liabilities/etc).

answered Sep 04 '14 at 04:13

Zz'Rot

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 04 '14 at 06:16

1

I think it's just meaning skip away.

answered Sep 04 '14 at 06:16

user6269

score -1 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 16 '17 at 06:51

-1

It means run away quickly as if there is oil on the sole of your foot

answered Jul 16 '17 at 06:51

user17499

It also means slip away. For example, you could use it to describe a thief – user17499 Jul 16 '17 at 06:55

4 Answers4