use someone's power for one's own ends
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
to ride the wind to sail the boat; to use someone's influence or resources to achieve one's own goal
formalCan carry a neutral or slightly opportunistic nuance. An equivalent variant is '借水行舟 (jiè shuǐ xíng zhōu)'. The idiom is typically used in formal writing or strategic discussions.
Tā他
xiàn现
zài在
dì地
wèi位
bù不
wěn稳
，
xiǎng想
jiè借
fēng风
shǐ使
chuán船
，
jiè借
zhù助
nà那
wèi位
lǎo老
qián前
bèi辈
de的
rén人
mài脉
。
His position is unstable now, so he wants to ride the wind and sail the boat by leveraging that senior's connections.
Zhè这
ge个
xiàng项
mù目
chéng成
gōng功
，
quán全
kào靠
wǒ我
men们
jiè借
fēng风
shǐ使
chuán船
，
lì利
yòng用
le了
shì市
chǎng场
de的
yǒu有
lì利
qū趋
shì势
。
This project succeeded entirely because we rode the wind and sailed the boat, taking advantage of favorable market trends.
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Tā他
shàn善
yú于
jiè借
fēng风
shǐ使
chuán船
，
zǒng总
néng能
zài在
jìng竞
zhēng争
zhōng中
jiè借
zhù助
méng盟
yǒu友
de的
lì力
liàng量
qǔ取
dé得
yōu优
shì势
。
He is good at using the wind to sail the boat, always managing to leverage the strength of allies to gain an advantage in competition.