拉锯 (lā jù) — tug-of-war fight, seesaw battle (where neither side makes decisive progress); prolonged back-and-forth process (negotiations, struggles)
Definition
A 离合词 (separable verb): 拉锯 itself means 'to saw' literally, but figuratively it describes a prolonged back-and-forth struggle or seesaw battle where neither side wins decisively. Insert other elements (e.g. 拉了…锯, 拉过锯) for aspect or duration.
verb
tug-of-war fightseesaw battle (where neither side makes decisive progress)prolonged back-and-forth process (negotiations, struggles)
Examples
- 拉锯。Shuāng fāng de bǐ sài jìn rù le lā jù zhuàng tài.The match between the two sides entered a seesaw battle.
- 。Zhè chǎng tán pàn yǐ jīng lā le hǎo jiǔ de jù.This negotiation has been going back and forth for a long time.
- 拉锯。Dí wǒ shuāng fāng zài nà lǐ lā jù le hǎo jǐ gè yuè.The enemy and our side were locked in a seesaw battle there for months.
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