a crab in boiling water—be at a loss
Crab in soup is a Chinese word, which describes the confusion. It comes from the Song Dynasty's shidaoyuan biography of lanterns in Jingde.
Soup: hot water. source: Song Shidao's original "Jingde Zhuandeng Lu" Volume 19: "it's like a crab in soup, hands and feet are in a hurry." one day, one's eyes fall to the ground, and one's hands are in a hurry. (popular edition of birds and fish by Zhai Hao in Qing Dynasty)
Chinese PinYin : luò tāng páng xiè
a crab in boiling water—be at a loss
do not drive someone into a corner. mò wéi yǐ shèn
hold about and give oneself airs. zhǐ gāo qì yáng