History
鷄肋
Chicken Ribs
Korean: 계륵Japanese: 鶏肋（けいろく）Pinyin: jī lèi
Meaning
Like chicken ribs — too little meat to eat, too good to throw away — it describes something of marginal value you still can’t quite give up.
Origin story
Facing Liu Bei in a stalemate over Hanzhong, Cao Cao grew weary of the campaign. One night, asked for the watchword, he absent-mindedly answered "chicken ribs." His officers were baffled — but the aide Yang Xiu quietly began packing. "Chicken ribs have no meat to eat, yet feel wasteful to discard: that is how the King sees Hanzhong, so we will soon withdraw," he explained. Cao Cao did indeed pull his army out shortly after, and the tale of reading his mind made "chicken ribs" a lasting expression.
Source: Book of the Later Han — Yang Xiu
People
Modern examples
- That subscription I never use but can’t bring myself to cancel is pure chicken ribs.
- The side business barely makes money, but shutting it down feels wasteful — a chicken-ribs dilemma.