To drink poison in order to slake one's thirst
To use destructive methods to get oneself out of a current difficulty without caring about that method's consequences
Negative
用高利贷解决公司的经济困难，无疑饮鸩止渴 | Yòng gāolìdài jiějué gōngsī de jīngjì kùnnán, wúyí yǐnzhènzhǐkě
Using high interest loans to resolve the company's economic struggles will undoubtedly backfire
[Source]
为了减少赤字而削减科技经费无异于饮鸩止渴 | Wèile jiǎnshǎo chìzì ér xuējiǎn kējì jīngfèi wú yì yú yǐnzhènzhǐkě
Cutting science funding in order to reduce the deficit would only make things worse
[Source]
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A 鸩 (zhèn) is a legendary bird whose feathers could be used to brew poison
The Chinese language is a lot more specific about family relations than English. The uncle in the story is the mother's brother, or 舅舅 (jiù jiu)
Also, there isn't a direct translation for this cheng yu in English, but if you translated it literally — "drink poison to quench your thirst" — people would 100% understand your meaning
《后汉书》(Hòu Hàn Shū, "History of the Eastern Han") by 范晔 (Fàn Yè)
During the Eastern Hàn Dynasty (东汉, 25 - 220), there was a local government official named 霍谞 (Huò Xū). 霍谞 had an uncle, 宋光 (Sòng Guāng), who was also a local official, and he always upheld the law earnestly and with justice. When 霍谞 was fifteen, his uncle's impartial ways drew the ire of some powerful nobles, and in an act of retribution, they accused him of tampering with an imperial edict. 宋光 was promptly thrown in jail.
霍谞 was deeply distressed by this. He knew that his uncle would not have committed such a crime, but he couldn't figure out how to clear his name. He finally wrote a letter to the general 梁商 (Liáng Shāng) and offered defense on his uncle's behalf. He argued that his uncle had always impartially carried out the law and was well-liked by the court, and he questioned why his uncle would risk doing such a dangerous crime. He wrote, "To do such a thing would be like allaying one's hunger with the poisonous wolfsbane, or slaking one's thirst with a drink brewed with the poisonous feathers of a 鸩 (zhèn)."
When the general 梁商 received the letter, he agreed with the young 霍谞's logic. He spoke with the emperor, and the emperor had 宋光 released and cleared of all crimes.