遼東りょうとうの豕いのこ

expression, noun

taking pride in something mundane, thinking it is exceptional; Liaodong boar (literal)

A rare literary set phrase from a Chinese anecdote about a man who thought his ordinary white boar was extraordinary, only to find it was common in Liaodong. Used to mock someone who boasts about something unremarkable.

• 「遼東りょうとうの豕いのこ」ということわざは、自じ分ぶんのありふれたものを自じ慢まんする愚おろかさを戒いましめる。

  The proverb 'Liaodong boar' warns against the foolishness of boasting about something ordinary.