出处：按学科分类—语言、文字 中国对外翻译出版公司《汉英成语词典》第109页（273字）
比喻表面上断了联系，实际上仍有联系，例他们曾经是一对恩爱情侣，现在虽已各自婚配，却还是藕断丝连。
They had once been intimate friends and then went their separate ways and got married．However，though circumstances have changed they still have a soft feeling for each other．