擦边球

擦邊球

cābiānqiú

noun #35,612

Measure Word

打了一个擦边球 gè

Meanings

1 edge ball (table tennis)
2 (figurative) a borderline action that just barely stays within the rules
3 a gray-area maneuver

Characters

to graze, to brush against

Examples

他这一球是个漂亮的擦边球。

Tā zhè yī qiú shì gè piàoliang de cābiānqiú.

That shot of his was a beautiful edge ball.

这个广告打的是法律的擦边球。

Zhège guǎnggào dǎ de shì fǎlǜ de cābiānqiú.

This advertisement is skirting the edge of the law.

Tips

culture

Literally 'a ball that grazes the edge' — in 乒乓球 (ping-pong) an edge-ball still counts but is nearly impossible to return. The figurative sense is now far more common: 打擦边球 (dǎ cābiānqiú) means doing something technically legal but ethically dubious — risqué advertising, tax tricks, content that just barely avoids censorship.

Stroke Order

擦 cā

边 biān

球 qiú