back out; give up halfway
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesidiom
to back out; to give up halfway
neutralDerived from the historical practice where feudal officials would beat a drum when retiring from the court hall, signaling the end of a session. Now used metaphorically to describe quitting before completing a task.
Yù遇
dào到
yī一
diǎn点
kùn困
nán难
jiù就
xiǎng想
dǎ打
tuì退
táng堂
gǔ鼓
，
zěn怎
me么
néng能
chéng成
gōng功
ne呢
？
If you think about backing out at the first sign of trouble, how can you succeed?
Yǒu有
kùn困
nán难
dà大
jiā家
lái来
bāng帮
nǐ你
，
nǐ你
kě可
bù不
néng能
dǎ打
tuì退
táng堂
gǔ鼓
。
Everyone is here to help you when there are difficulties, so you can't back out.
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Tā他
shì是
gè个
yǒu有
yì毅
lì力
de的
rén人
，
zuò做
shì事
qing情
cóng从
lái来
bù不
dǎ打
tuì退
táng堂
gǔ鼓
。
He is a persevering person who never gives up halfway on tasks.
Gōng公
sī司
gāng刚
yǒu有
diǎn点
qǐ起
sè色
，
tā他
jū居
rán然
jiù就
dǎ打
tuì退
táng堂
gǔ鼓
cí辞
zhí职
le了
。
Just when the company was starting to improve, he actually backed out and resigned.