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Meaning

a stopgap, makeshift

Making do for the moment; an approach that puts off a real solution.

Example

再起動で済ませるのは姑息な手段で、根本の修正にはならない。

Restarting it is only a stopgap and doesn't fix the underlying problem.

Origin

Ko (姑) means for a while and soku (息) means to rest. The source is the Tangong I chapter of the Book of Rites, where Zengzi contrasts the way a gentleman loves through virtue with the way a petty person loves, calling the latter kosoku. Using it to mean underhanded is a recent usage. In the Agency for Cultural Affairs public opinion survey, 70.9% in fiscal Heisei 22 (2010) and 73.9% in fiscal Reiwa 3 (2021) took kosoku na shudan to mean "an underhanded method," while the original "a temporary fix" stayed at 15.0% and 17.4%.

Sources