The Chinese word "炒鱿鱼" (chǎo yóuyú), which literally means "stir-fried squid", is a vivid metaphorical idiom for being fired from a job. Its formation is based on a visual analogy: when squid is quickly stir-fried, it curls up and contracts, which was seen as resembling the way a dismissed employee would roll up their bedding or personal belongings (traditionally done in a cylindrical roll) before leaving their workplace. Thus, the act of cooking squid became a figurative and euphemistic expression for the abrupt act of termination, where the employee is forced to "roll up" and depart.