middle course; second-best plan
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
middle course; the second best plan; strategy that is inferior to the best but superior to the worst
Commonly used in the tripartite framework of 上策 (best), 中策 (middle), and 下策 (worst) strategies. Often implies a compromise or moderate approach.
Zài在
sān三
zhǒng种
fāng方
àn案
zhōng中
，
tā他
xuǎn选
zé择
le了
zhōng中
cè策
。
Among the three plans, he chose the middle course.
Cǎi采
yòng用
zhōng中
cè策
suī虽
rán然
wěn稳
tuǒ妥
，
dàn但
shōu收
yì益
bù不
rú如
shàng上
cè策
gāo高
。
Although adopting the middle course is safe, the returns are not as high as with the best strategy.
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Zhè这
bù不
guò过
shì是
zhōng中
cè策
ér而
yǐ已
，
shàng上
cè策
yìng应
shì是
chè彻
dǐ底
jiě解
jué决
wèn问
tí题
。
This is merely the second-best plan; the best strategy would be to solve the problem thoroughly.