Literal meaning
draw (画) — snake (蛇) — add (添) — feet (足)
Origin
Strategies of the Warring States (《战国策·齐策》). A group of servants competed to finish a single jar of wine — whoever drew a snake on the ground first would drink it all. The fastest finished quickly, and to show off he started adding feet to his snake. While he was still drawing, another finished and grabbed the jar: "A snake has no feet — what you've drawn isn't a snake." The first man lost the wine for embellishing past completion. The story has been the canonical example of "don't gild the lily" in Chinese ever since.
Examples
Usage & nuances
Common everyday idiom. Used to gently call out someone (or oneself) for over-engineering, over-explaining, or padding past the point of usefulness.
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