"It's tasteless to eat, but it's a pity to throw it away" means it tastes tasteless, and it's a pity to throw it away. It is a metaphor that it is not necessary to continue something, but it is reluctant to let it go. It also describes being in a dilemma, indecisive, and helpless.

From "Three Kingdoms·Wei Zhi·Wudi Ji" Pei Songzhi's annotation quoted from "Jiuzhou Spring and Autumn": "It's a pity to throw away chicken ribs, eat them without getting anything, compare them to Hanzhong, and know that the king wants to return them." ”

Allusion:

Cao Cao and Liu Bei faced each other in Hanzhong, and the two armies were at a stalemate. Cao Cao was worried when he saw that it had been raining for days, that his food and grass were running out, and that he could not win. At this time, the soldiers came to ask for the order for the night. Cao Cao was looking blankly at the chicken ribs in the bowl, thinking about how to advance or retreat, and he casually replied: Chicken ribs! When the command "chicken ribs" was sent to the chief secretary Yang Xiu, the guy was so smart that he encouraged the soldiers to pack up and prepare to withdraw.

The soldiers asked why. Yang Xiu said: Chicken ribs are useless when eaten, but they are tasteless when discarded. Today, the prime minister cannot advance and win, and he is afraid of being laughed at. Tomorrow he will order his troops to retreat. So everyone believed it. When Cao Cao found out about this, he beheaded Yang Xiu in the name of deceiving the troops. This is the allusion about tasteless food.

Commentary:

Yang Xiu, as a counselor in the feudal era, can be called a typical figure in ancient China. His talent and knowledge are outstanding. He is also quite accurate, quick and agile in speculating, analyzing, judging and predicting the psychological activities of Prime Minister Cao Cao, and he has a certain degree of foresight. It was precisely because of the accuracy of this prediction that Yang Xiu lost his life.

Although Yang Xiu had a clear understanding of Cao Cao's conflicting and hesitant mentality before he retreated, as a staff member under Cao Cao for many years, he had enough understanding of Cao Cao's suspicious, violent and cruel character. He mistakenly believed that Cao Cao would not kill him for this, so he dared to openly say in the army that Cao Cao would withdraw his troops, and asked the soldiers to pack their bags and prepare to return to the court. This is a typical example of being smart but being mistaken.