画蛇添足
What does 画蛇添足 mean?
Draw legs on a snake — ruin what's already done by adding what was never needed
比喻做事已经很好了，却多此一举，反而把事情弄坏了。
Historical origin
In the state of Chu, after a ceremony, a lord placed one bronze pot of wine in the centre of the courtyard for his servants. They agreed that whoever finished drawing a snake first would win it. A-Sheng completed his snake before the others and picked up the pot to claim it, but then proudly began adding six legs to his snake. Meanwhile, A-Hui had not yet finished her snake, but while A-Sheng was busy adding the legs, she completed hers, took the pot from him, and reminded him that snakes have no legs — so his 'snake with six legs' was no snake at all, and the wine was rightfully hers.
How do you use 画蛇添足 in a sentence?
The poster looked great already, but adding too many decorations was like drawing legs on a snake.
这张海报本来已经很好看了，但再加太多装饰就像画蛇添足一样。
Common mistake
Do not use this idiom for any extra effort that is truly helpful. It is only for unnecessary additions that spoil or weaken something that was already fine.
不要把这个成语用在真正有帮助的额外努力上。它只用来形容那些本来已经够好了，却因为多加了不必要的东西而被弄糟的情况。
More examples and usage guide