瓮中之鳖

甕中之鱉
wèngzhōngzhībiē
  1. lit. like a turtle in a jar
  2. to be trapped (idiom)

CEDICT

困在瓮中的鳖。比喻在掌握之中，无法逃脱的人或物。

重編國語辭典

Entry Composition

=1 瓮 wèng
  1. variant of 瓮 wèng
  2. earthen jar
  3. urn
=1 瓮 wèng pottery container for water, wine etc
=1 瓮 wèng variant of 瓮 wèng
2 中 zhōng
  1. within; among; in
  2. middle; center
  3. while (doing sth); during
  4. (dialect) OK; all right
3 之 zhī
  1. (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的 de)
  2. him
  3. her
  4. it
=4 鳖 biē softshell turtle
=4 鳖 biē variant of 鳖 biē

Related entries

身陷 shēnxiàn
  1. to be trapped
  2. to be imprisoned
我身陷困境。

I am in a tight place.

Source: Tatoeba