挂羊头卖狗肉

Pronunciation: guà yáng tóu mài gǒu ròu Literal meaning: Hang a sheep's head, sell dog meat

Origin & Usage

The oldest version is in the 《晏子春秋》, where the minister Yanzi rebukes a ruler with the image of an ox head hung at the gate while horse meat is sold inside. The sheep-and-dog form settled later and stuck, because it is funnier and because the two were priced so differently that the swindle is instantly legible. It remains the standard Chinese phrase for the gap between the sign and the goods — advertising, political promises, a job description that turns out to describe a different job — and its force comes from the fact that nobody is lying outright. The head really is hanging there.

Examples

English: "The prospectus promised one business and the accounts described another."

Chinese: 这家店挂羊头卖狗肉，名不副实。