炒鱿鱼

Mandarin

Etymology

Originally from Cantonese. Literally, "to fry squid."

Verb

炒鱿鱼 (simplified, Pinyin chǎo yóuyú, traditional 炒魷魚)

1. to fry squid
2. (slang) to sack someone; to fire someone

References

• 2005, Yu Feng; Zhijie Jia, Jie Cai, Yaohua Shi, Judith M. Amory, Pop Chinese: A Cheng & Tsui Handbook Of Contemporary Colloquial Expressions (Cheng & Tsui Asian Dictionary Series) (话是这么说：中国当代流行语手册) (in English/Chinese), Boston: Cheng & Tsui, ISBN 0-88727-424-2:
• 2008, Shujuan Li, Popular Chinese Expressions (流行汉语), edition 2nd (in English/Mandarin), Beijing: Sinolingua, ISBN 978-7-80200-388-0: