本书对成语进行"诊脉"，探究其来龙与去脉，重点阐释成语的出处、寓意与用法变迁。书中所举例句多为报刊杂志、电视广播以及教学中经常用错和解释错的成语以及人们日常容易产生疑问的成语，贴近生活，故事性强，把看似生涩的"引经据典"融入口语化的表达之中。(This book "feels the pulse" of idioms, explores their origins and development and focuses on illustrating the idioms' sources, connotations and changes in usage. Most of the example sentences in the book are idioms which are frequently misused and misexplained in newspapers, magazines, television, radios and teaching as well as idioms which easily make people confused in daily life. They are close to life and like stories, integrating "chapter and verse" which seem to be jerky into colloquial expressions.)