敲退堂鼓
qiāo​tuì​táng​gǔ

to back out

  • created sense approved 敲退堂鼓 · qiāo​tuì​táng​gǔ · to back out — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    敲退堂鼓

    qiāo​tuì​táng​gǔ

    to back out

    literally to beat the drum signaling the end of a court session; to give up halfway or back out of a commitment

    敲 (literal) → 敲 · qiāo · to knock 退堂鼓 (literal) → 退堂鼓 · tuì​táng​gǔ · court-recess drum

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense