“Calling a deer a horse” means to deceive for ill gain.

Calling a Deer a Horse (指鹿为马)

The Chinese idiom “calling a deer a horse” (指鹿为马 – zhǐ lù wéi mǎ) goes all they way back to the first Chinese Dynasty, the Qin Dynasty.  A figure by the name of Zhao Gao (赵高 — Zhào Gāo) receives the credit for this four word Chinese idiom, a 成语 chéngyǔ. Read More…