as timid as a rat which peeps out its head and dares to do nothing
It is a Chinese idiom. Pinyin is sh ǔ sh ǒ UF è NSH ì, which means something bad. It refers to a person who does not make up his mind, just like a timid mouse who stretches and shrinks at the hole when he comes out. It's from the book body of young scholars.
The origin of Idioms
In Cheng Yunsheng's body of learning from qionglin in the early Qing Dynasty, "laughing at people's lack of teeth is called" dog Dou Da Kai "; sneering at people's indecision is called" rat head "
Chinese PinYin : shǔ shǒu fèn shì
as timid as a rat which peeps out its head and dares to do nothing
act when the time is opportune. xiāng jī xíng shì
old in age but vigorous in mind. fà duǎn xīn cháng
fail on the verge of success. gōng bài chuí chéng