sacrifice a pawn to save a chariot; sacrifice the lesser to preserve the greater
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
to sacrifice a pawn to save a chariot (in chess); to sacrifice a minor interest to safeguard a major one
neutralUsed to describe a strategic choice where one gives up something of lesser value or importance in order to protect or gain something more significant. The character 车 in this idiom is pronounced 'jū' (the chess piece 'chariot' or 'rook'), not 'chē' (the vehicle).
Wèi为
le了
àn按
shí时
wán完
chéng成
hé核
xīn心
xiàng项
mù目
，
gōng公
sī司
cǎi采
qǔ取
le了
diū丢
zú卒
bǎo保
jū车
de的
cè策
luè略
，
zàn暂
tíng停
le了
yī一
xiē些
cì次
yào要
yè业
wù务
。
To complete the core project on time, the company adopted a strategy of sacrificing the pawn to save the chariot by suspending some minor operations.
Tán谈
pàn判
zhōng中
，
tā他
tóng同
yì意
zài在
yī一
xiē些
xì细
jié节
shàng上
ràng让
bù步
，
diū丢
zú卒
bǎo保
jū车
，
zuì最
zhōng终
bǎo保
zhù住
le了
hé核
xīn心
lì利
yì益
。
During the negotiation, he agreed to make concessions on some details—sacrificing the pawn to save the chariot—and ultimately protected the core interests.
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Zhè这
ge个
chéng成
yǔ语
lái来
yuán源
yú于
Zhōng中
guó国
xiàng象
qí棋
，
shēng生
dòng动
de地
tǐ体
xiàn现
le了
quán权
héng衡
lì利
bì弊
de的
zhì智
huì慧
。
This idiom originates from Chinese chess, vividly embodying the wisdom of weighing pros and cons.