A: Johnny is transferred to another department. Isn’t he doing great in sales?

    B: Well, the tall poppy gets the chop.

    Note: The tall poppy is the biggest and finest flower in the bush. Metaphorically, it refers to things or people that are superior to others. In China, we say the bird that sticks its head out gets shot. That means that those that appear to be different and better, especially better than the rest of us, attract unwanted attention in forms of jealousy and criticism, if not anything worse. In ancient Rome, one of the kings really did chop down the taller poppies in his garden to send out the exact same message: get rid of the more prominent members of society and stability is ensured. In the West, resentment towards tall poppies is also known as the tall poppy syndrome.