Chinese idiom · 成语
金蝉脱壳
Meaning
The golden cicada sheds its shell; to escape by leaving a decoy.
Character by character
金gold
蝉cicada
脱shed, escape
壳shell
Origin and story
From folk strategies and Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sān guó yǎn yì). Like a cicada’s shed shell, a ruse conceals true intentions.