abacus mnemonic; shirk responsibility
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Meanings
2 senses · 4 examplesnoun
abacus calculation mnemonic: one divided by sixteen equals 0.0625 (used in traditional weight conversion)
technicalOriginates from the traditional Chinese weight system where 1 jin (斤) equaled 16 liang (两). This mnemonic calculates that 1 liang equals 0.0625 jin.
Jiù旧
shí时
de的
zhàng账
fáng房
xiān先
sheng生
shú熟
jì记
"
yī一
tuì退
liù六
èr二
wǔ五
"
de的
kǒu口
jué诀
。
Accountants in the old days memorized the mnemonic 'one divided by sixteen equals 0.0625'.
idiom
to shirk responsibility completely; to wash one's hands of the matter; to pass the buck
informal退 is a homophone for 推 (tuī, to push/shirk). The phrase puns on the abacus term to mean pushing away all responsibility. Also commonly said as 一推六二五.
Chū出
le了
shì事
gù故
，
tā他
jiù就
yī一
tuì退
liù六
èr二
wǔ五
，
bǎ把
zé责
rèn任
quán全
tuī推
gěi给
xià下
shǔ属
。
When the accident happened, he completely passed the buck, shifting all blame onto his subordinates.
Nǐ你
bié别
xiǎng想
yī一
tuì退
liù六
èr二
wǔ五
，
zhè这
jiàn件
shì事
nǐ你
yě也
cān参
yù与
le了
。
Don't try to wash your hands of this—you were involved too.
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Hé合
zuò作
de得
hǎo好
jiù就
qiǎng抢
gōng功
，
chū出
le了
wèn问
tí题
jiù就
yī一
tuì退
liù六
èr二
wǔ五
，
zhè这
zhǒng种
duì队
yǒu友
zhēn真
ràng让
rén人
tóu头
téng疼
。
Grabbing credit when things go well but passing the buck when problems arise—teammates like that are a real headache.