草台班子
cǎotái bānzi
Literally says
a grass stage troupe
Actually means
a sloppy amateur crew pretending to be professionals
When to say it
An old word for rough traveling opera troupes, now the great discovery that the whole world is run by one. Your company, big organizations, maybe everything is held together with tape. Say it with a knowing sigh when the fancy institution turns out to be chaos inside.
Hear it in the wild
别看是大公司，其实草台班子。
Bié kàn shì dà gōngsī, qíshí cǎotái bānzi.
Big company on paper, total amateur hour inside.
原来这世界是个草台班子。
Yuánlái zhè shìjiè shì ge cǎotái bānzi.
Turns out the whole world runs on duct tape.