隔靴搔癢

隔靴搔痒
géxuēsāoyǎng
  1. lit. to scratch the outside of the boot (idiom)
  2. fig. beside the point
  3. ineffectual

CEDICT

to attempt an ineffective solution

Wiktionary

隔著馬靴搔癢處。比喻不切實際。宋．嚴羽《滄浪詩話．詩法》：「意貴透徹，不可隔靴搔癢。」也作「隔靴抓癢」。

重編國語辭典

不切實際，不得要領

維基詞典

Entry Composition

1 隔 gé
  1. to separate
  2. to partition
  3. to stand or lie between
  4. at a distance from
  5. after or at an interval of
=2 靴 xuē boots
=2 靴 xuē variant of 靴 xuē
3 搔癢 sāoyǎng
  1. to scratch (an itch)
  2. to tickle

Related entries

無牙 wúyá
  1. toothless
  2. (fig.) powerless
  3. ineffectual
  4. weak
含含糊糊 hánhánhúhú
  1. (of speech) obscure
  2. unclear
  3. (of actions) vague
  4. ineffectual
麵 miàn
  1. flour
  2. noodles
  3. (of food) soft (not crunchy)
  4. (slang) (of a person) ineffectual
  5. spineless
我吃麵

I eat noodles.

Source: Tatoeba