Origin of the idiom "Hit where you point"

The law is like thunder,

Hit wherever you point, no place is safe

(The Catfish and Toad Story - Anonymous)

Why is there an idiom "Hit where you point" (variant version Hit where you point)?

The book Idioms in Pictures (Compiled by: Nguyen Thi Huong Ly; Painting by: Nguyen Quang Toan - Kim Dong Publishing House, 2020) explains: “Wherever you point, attack: In the past, on the battlefield, the general commanded the army by riding a horse, using a sword or flag to point at the target, then shouting to the army “Attack!”. The army had to obey orders: wherever the general pointed, the army attacked right there, without thinking, and was not allowed to disobey orders. Meaning: Only knowing how to carry out orders mechanically, passively, and lacking creativity”.

However, “Military orders are like mountains”! On the battlefield, if soldiers do not follow the general’s orders and “create” on their own, the only disaster is “the army retreats without orders” (The defeated army will flee in chaos, without waiting for orders to retreat). Therefore, soldiers following the commander’s orders is the strength of the army, and cannot be understood as “only knowing how to carry out orders mechanically, passively, and lacking in creativity”.

Actually, "hit wherever you point" is a shortened version of "Thunder hits wherever he points".

According to folklore, Thien Loi is a god of heaven, who creates thunder and lightning and obeys orders to punish the wicked and unfilial. Whoever Heaven sends Thien Loi to punish, Thien Loi will follow orders and swing his lightning blade to punish that person. Therefore, Thien Loi is also compared to a loyal servant, always following his master's orders.

There is a Chinese proverb: “Thunder does not hit a person who is eating - 雷公不打吃飯人 - Heavenly Thunder does not hit a person who is eating), similar to the Vietnamese saying “Heavenly Thunder still avoids food”, implying: even a person who mechanically carries out orders, “hits wherever he is told” like Heavenly Thunder, knows how to “avoid food”, delaying the execution of the order if he sees a criminal eating! (advice to respect other people's meals).

In the Tale of the Catfish and the Toad, we also see the idiom "The law is as strict as thunder", meaning that the law of the country is strict, cannot be changed, or delayed in execution, just like the Thunder God carrying out the orders of heaven.

Thus, "Wherever you point, hit" comes from the story "Where the Thunder points, hit" and not as explained in the book of Idioms in Pictures.

Hoang Trinh Son (Contributor)

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nguon-goc-thanh-ngu-chi-dau-danh-day-256103.htm