狗尾续貂

Origin and story

The Jinshu's biography of Sima Lun describes his indiscriminate distribution of official titles after taking imperial power. So many people receive offices that court assemblies are crowded with the sable-tail ornaments associated with rank. A satirical saying declares that when sable tails run short, dog tails will fill the gap.

The recorded proverb mocks degraded standards of appointment; it need not be read as an independently verified inventory of replacement animal tails. Later the phrase came to describe an inferior continuation attached to something excellent, especially a weak sequel or ending. It is not limited to a person succeeding another in office.