卖乖

賣乖
màiguāi
  1. to show off one's cleverness
  2. (of sb who has received beneficial treatment) to profess to have been hard done by

CEDICT

  1. to be sharp but petty-minded; to show off one's cleverness
  2. to pretend to feel wronged

Wiktionary

  1. 伪装受委屈。
  2. 卖弄小聪明。

重編國語辭典

Entry Composition

1 卖 mài
  1. to sell
  2. to betray
  3. to spare no effort
  4. to show off or flaunt
2 乖 guāi
  1. (of a child) obedient, well-behaved
  2. clever
  3. shrewd
  4. alert
  5. perverse
  6. contrary to reason
  7. irregular
  8. abnormal

Containing this entry

得便宜卖乖 dépiányimàiguāi
  1. to have benefited from sth but pretend otherwise
  2. to claim to be hard done by, even though one has benefited
撒娇卖乖 sājiāomàiguāi to behave ingratiatingly
讨好卖乖 tǎohǎomàiguāi to curry favor by showing obeisance (idiom)