Chinese idiom · 成语
焦头烂额
Meaning
Burnt head, blistered forehead; overwhelmed by troubles.
Character by character
Origin and story
Historical text containing a parableThe Hanshu's biography of Huo Guang preserves a parable used to argue that preventing trouble deserves recognition. A visitor notices firewood beside a stove with a straight chimney and recommends moving the wood and altering the chimney. The owner ignores him. When a fire breaks out, neighbors extinguish it, some suffering burns to their heads and foreheads.
At the thank-you feast, the injured rescuers receive places of honor while the original adviser is forgotten. Someone points out the injustice, and the owner invites him too. The scorched rescuers supply the idiom's literal image; it later describes being battered or overwhelmed by a tangle of difficulties.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
孩子生病，项目又要交付，这几天我忙得焦头烂额。
With my child ill and a project due, I've been completely overwhelmed these past few days.
Commonly follows 忙得 or 搞得; suggests a harried, difficult situation.