顺手牵羊

顺手牵羊

Literally means:

take the sheep in passing

Actually means:

make off with something in passing

It means going off with others' things when no one notices it, i.e. stealing things. It also metaphorically means gaining benefit accidentally or easily obtaining something that is usually hard to get. It is derogatory in the former sense.

在别人不注意的情况下，顺手拿了别人的东西，即偷了别人的东西。也比喻意外获得好处或不费力地获得某种平常要花大气力才能得到的东西。前一种用法具有贬义色彩。