颐指气使

Pronunciation: yí zhǐ qì shǐ Literal meaning: Point with the chin, order with a look

Origin & Usage

颐 is the lower jaw and cheek; to point with it (指) and to command (使) by 气 — the air or expression on the face, not the breath — is to give orders without troubling to speak. The picture is exact and unpleasant — a lift of the chin, an audible sigh, and somebody moves. What the phrase objects to is not the authority but the withholding of words, which treats the other person as not requiring any. Bosses, officials and the rich, and it is among the sharper things that can be said about how somebody treats subordinates.

Examples

English: "The arrogant manager treated employees like servants."

Chinese: 傲慢的经理颐指气使地对待员工。