关公面前耍大刀

guān gōng miàn qián shuǎ dà dāo

lit. to wield the broadsword in the presence of Lord Guan (idiom)

fig. to make a fool of oneself by showing off in front of an expert

关

guān

mountain pass

公

gōng

public

面

miàn

variant of 麵|面[mian4]

前

qián

front

耍

shuǎ

to play with

大

dà

big; large; great

刀

dāo

knife; blade; single-edged sword; cutlass (CL:把[ba3])