擦边球 (cā biān qiú) — (in table tennis) an edge ball; (figurative) an act that barely stays within what is legally or socially acceptable, often exploiting gray areas
Definition
A ball that grazes the edge in table tennis; figuratively, an act that stays just inside the rules by exploiting a gray area (often collocates with 打, as in 打擦边球).
noun
(in table tennis) an edge ball(figurative) an act that barely stays within what is legally or socially acceptableoften exploiting gray areas
Examples
- ，擦边球，。Zhè ge qiú dǎ dé zhēn hǎo, shì gè cā biān qiú, cái pàn dōu méi kàn qīng.That shot was really good — it was an edge ball, even the referee didn't see it clearly.
- 擦边球，。Hěn duō guǎng gào dōu huì dǎ cā biān qiú, lì yòng fǎ lǜ huī sè dì dài.Many advertisements push the boundaries by exploiting legal gray areas.
- ，擦边球。Tā de zhè zhǒng zuò fǎ suī rán bú fàn fǎ, dàn míng xiǎn shì zài dǎ cā biān qiú.Although his method isn't illegal, it's clearly a way of skirting the rules.
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