Daily Figurative Slangs 半路出家 Become a monk or nun late in life

半路出家
Become a monk or nun late in life
【注音】bàn lù chū jiā
【解释】“出家”本是佛家语，表示“当了和尚”或“做了尼姑”。半路出家则用来表示中途改行，换了职业。
bàn lù chū jiā was originally a buddhism term, meaning “become a monk or nun”. It’s now used as a metaphor for a change of profession or switch to a job one was not trained for.


【例子】
例：
A：张先生，有个学术问题请教您一下，您是专家。
B：不敢不敢，我哪儿是什么专家呀。
A：怎么不是，你写了那么多的文章，学问那么大。
B：哪儿敢说什么学问呀，我只不过是半路出家。
Ex.：
A：Professor Zhang, I’d like to consult you on an academic question since you are the expert.
B：Don’t you say so, I’m not an expert.
A：Of course you are. You have so many thesis published and such great learning.
B：I wouldn’t say any great learning. I was not trained for this profession but only switched to it late in my life.

帮倒忙
Be more of a hindrance than a help
【注音】bāng dào máng
【解释】用一句幽默话说，就是“越帮越忙”。
To put it humorously, “the more you help me, the busier I become.”
  
【例子】
例：
A：小李，你帮我看看，我的电脑出了什么问题，老死机。
B：你让我帮忙那是帮倒忙。
Ex.：
A：Xiao Li, could you do me a favor and check my computer? See what’s the problem that it becomes dead at every turn.
B：You asked the wrong preson. I’ll only make it even worse.