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打擦边球

dǎ cā biān qiúdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to bend the rules / to skirt around the issue
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-1dae21c48f9cf21e. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

打擦邊球 打擦边球 [da3 ca1 bian1 qiu2] /to bend the rules/to skirt around the issue/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 打擦邊球

  • 打
    dá

    (loanword) dozen / Taiwan pr. [dǎ]

    dǎ

    to hit / to strike / to fight / (in many expressions) a semantically light transitive verb used with various objects to form expressions with a wide range of meanings, e.g. 打傘|打伞[dǎ sǎn] "to hold an umbrella", 打電話|打电话[dǎ diàn huà] "to make a phone call", 打針|打针[dǎ zhēn] "to get an injection" / (coll.) from / since

  • 擦
    cā

    to rub / to scratch / to wipe / to polish / to apply (lipstick, lotion etc) / to brush (past) / to shred (a vegetable etc)

  • 边
    biān

    side / edge / margin / border / boundary / CL:個|个[gè] / simultaneously

    bian

    suffix of a noun of locality

  • 球
    qiú

    ball used for playing games (variant of 球[qiú]) / ball / sphere / globe / CL:個|个[gè] / ball game / match / CL:場|场[chǎng]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.