折腰

zhé yāo

Rare

Definitions

1. to bend at the waist
2. to bow
3. (fig.) to bow to
4. to submit

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Words Containing 折腰

为五斗米折腰

wèi wǔ dǒu mǐ zhé yāo

(allusion to Tao Qian 陶潛|陶潜[táo qián], who used this phrase when he resigned from government service rather than show subservience to a visiting inspector) to bow and scrape for five pecks of rice (that being a part of his salary as a local magistrate)