Chinese idiom · 成语
无孔不入
Meaning
No hole unentered; pervasive influence or intrusion.
Character by character
Origin and story
literary expressionA traditional comparison pictures spilled mercury reaching every opening. Li Jiantang’s Suyu Kaoyuan (俗語考原) records the saying and attributes a favorable use of the image to Su Dongpo, to express all-reaching understanding. That later report should not be treated as a securely identified passage written by Su himself.
The same entry notes that ordinary speech had turned the image against people who exploit every opportunity. In chapter 35 of Guanchang Xianxing Ji (官場現形記), it describes the aggressive maneuvering of people arranging purchased official status in Shanghai. The idiom thus ranges from pervasive penetration to opportunistic intrusion. Its history is a change in the use of an image, not a single documented episode of corruption.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
这些广告真是无孔不入，连查公交时刻表都会跳出来。
These ads get everywhere—they even pop up when I check bus schedules.
Often negative, for intrusive activity that seems to reach every available opening.