打圆场 (dǎ yuán chǎng) — to mediate a quarrel; to smooth things over

Definition

Examples

• 看到两个同事争论不休，他赶紧出来打圆场，说大家都是为了工作。
  Kàn dào liǎng gè tóng shì zhēng lùn bù xiū, tā gǎn jǐn chū lái dǎ yuán chǎng, shuō dà jiā dōu shì wèi le gōng zuò.
  Seeing his two colleagues arguing endlessly, he quickly stepped in to smooth things over, saying everyone was just doing it for the work.
• 朋友吵得面红耳赤，我连忙打了个圆场，提议先吃饭再说。
  Péng you chǎo dé miàn hóng ěr chì, wǒ lián máng dǎ le ge yuán chǎng, tí yì xiān chī fàn zài shuō.
  My friends were quarreling fiercely, so I quickly mediated by suggesting we eat first and talk later.
• 谈判陷入僵局时，中方代表幽默地打圆场，缓和了气氛。
  Tán pàn xiàn rù jiāng jú shí, zhōng fāng dài biǎo yōu mò dì dǎ yuán chǎng, huǎn hé le qì fen.
  When the negotiations reached a stalemate, the Chinese representative humorously smoothed things over and eased the atmosphere.