欲擒故纵
yù​qín​gù​zòng

to loosen the reins to better catch one's prey

  • created sense approved 欲擒故纵/欲擒故縱 · yù​qín​gù​zòng · to loosen the reins to better catch one's prey — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    欲擒故纵 / 欲擒故縱

    yù​qín​gù​zòng

    to loosen the reins to better catch one's prey

    To deliberately let someone go or relax control in order to make them let down their guard, making it easier to capture or control them later.

    欲 (literal) → 欲 · yù · to want 擒 (literal) → 擒 · qín · to capture 故纵 (literal) → 故纵/故縱 · gù​zòng · to intentionally allow crime

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

    created sense