打退堂鼓

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Chinese[edit]

 
beat; strike; break
beat; strike; break; mix up; build; fight; fetch; make; tie up; issue; shoot; calculate; since; from; dozen
drum used at the end of a court hearing
trad. (打退堂鼓) 退堂鼓
simp. #(打退堂鼓) 退堂鼓

Pronunciation[edit]


Verb[edit]

打退堂鼓

  1. (historical) to beat the drum before the magistrate withdraws from the court
  2. (figurative) to beat a retreat; to give up halfway