打退堂鼓
Chinese
- 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 simp. and trad.
(打退堂鼓)打 退堂鼓
Pronunciation
Verb
打退堂鼓
- (historical) to beat the drum before the magistrate withdraws from the court
- (figuratively) to beat a retreat; to give up halfway