This word comes from a Tang dynasty story: poet Jiǎ Dǎo (
贾岛) couldn't decide whether to use
推 (push) or
敲 (knock) in the line '
僧推月下门' (a monk pushes/knocks at a moonlit gate). He was so lost in thought he bumped into the palanquin of Han Yù (
韩愈), a famous literary official, who suggested
敲 was better. The word
推敲 has meant 'to deliberate over word choice' ever since.
