百足之蟲

百足之虫
bǎizúzhīchóng
  1. (figuratively) the rich and powerful
  2. Alternative name for 蜈蚣 (wúgōng, “centipede”).
  3. Alternative name for 馬陸／马陆 (mǎlù, “millipede”).
  4. the rich and powerful

Wiktionary

Entry Composition

1 百足 bǎizú
  1. centipede
  2. millipede
2 之 zhī
  1. (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的 de)
  2. him
  3. her
  4. it
=3 蟲 chóng
  1. lower form of animal life, including insects, insect larvae, worms and similar creatures
  2. (fig.) person with a particular undesirable characteristic

classifiers: 條, 隻
=3 蟲 zhòng
  1. (obsolete, of insect) to bite; to eat
  2. to bite; to eat

Containing this entry

百足之蟲死而不僵 bǎizúzhīchóngsǐérbùjiāng
  1. a centipede dies but never falls down
  2. old institutions die hard