窮鼠嚙狸

穷鼠啮狸
qióngshǔnièlí
a desperate rat will bite the fox (idiom); the smallest worm will turn being trodden on

CEDICT

Homographs

窮鼠齧狸 qióngshǔnièlí

Entry Composition

1 窮 qióng
  1. poor
  2. destitute
  3. to use up
  4. to exhaust
  5. thoroughly
  6. extremely
  7. (coll.) persistently and pointlessly
2 鼠 shǔ (bound form) rat; mouse
3 嚙 niè
  1. to gnaw
  2. to erode
=4 狸 lí
  1. raccoon dog
  2. fox-like animal
=4 狸 lí variant of 狸 lí