Chinese

		to drink; to shout; to shout applause	northwest/northwesterly wind
trad. (喝西北風)		喝	西北風
simp. (喝西北风)		喝	西北风

Idiom

喝西北風

1. to suffer from cold and hunger, to be cold and hungry; to have nothing to eat (lit.: drink the northwest wind)

   因為田地被暴風毀掉，老百姓只能喝西北風。 [MSC, trad.]

   因为田地被暴风毁掉，老百姓只能喝西北风。 [MSC, simp.]

   Yīnwèi tiándì bèi bàofēng huǐdiào, lǎobǎixìng zhǐnéng hēxīběifēng. [Pinyin]

   Because the farmland was destroyed by the storms, the (ordinary) people have nothing to eat.