To imitate a beautiful person's actions awkwardly, thereby making one's own shortcomings more pronounced; an ill-advised imitation that backfires.
小明看了电影里主角的走路姿势觉得很酷，结果自己模仿起来却显得西颦东效，引得大家发笑。
Xiao Ming thought the main character's walking style in the movie was cool, but his own imitation turned out to be an awkward mimicry, drawing laughter from everyone.
Era:
Early Modern
Frequency:
Story:
During the Spring and Autumn period, Xi Shi, a beautiful woman from the state of Yue, was slender, with red lips and white teeth, and exceptionally lovely. She suffered from heart pain, and when an attack occurred, she would often press her hand to her chest and furrow her brows.
This made her appear even more charming and graceful.
Her neighbor, an ugly woman named Dong Shi, saw this and imitated her actions. When people saw Dong Shi doing the same, they found her to be even uglier and more unattractive.
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