太歲頭上動土

太岁头上动土
tàisuìtóushàngdòngtǔ

to beard the lion; to offend or provoke the most powerful; to provoke somebody far superior in power or strength

Wiktionary

Entry Composition

1 太歲 Tàisuì
  1. Tai Sui, God of the year
  2. archaic name for the planet Jupiter 木星 Mùxīng
  3. nickname for sb who is the most powerful in an area
2 頭上 tóushàng
  1. overhead
  2. above
3 動土 dòngtǔ
  1. to break ground (prior to building sth)
  2. to start building