Why that two-faced rat

Well, he looks that way sometimes

首鼠両端
shu.so.ryou.tan

Literally: neck – mouse / rat – both – edge

Alternately: Caught in indecision, often between two choices. Vacillating; sitting on the fence. By extension, the phrase can also refer to someone who is gauging a situation before deciding what to do or which side to throw in with. The image is of a rodent sticking its head out of a hole and looking around as if unsure which way to go.

Notes: This is another extract from our old friend, the Records of the Grand Historian (Japanese 『史記』 = Shiki). It is considered a synonym of “last week’s” 遅疑逡巡.

Fruits Basket. It's a long story.

Protip: Do NOT use an iron to make your final decision

About Confanity

I love the written word more than anything else I've had the chance to work with. I'm back in the States from Japan for grad school, but still studying Japanese with the hope of becoming a translator -- or writer, or even teacher -- as long as it's something language-related.
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