手練手管

Terentekuda

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Meaning

wiles and tricks

The ploys and maneuvering used to deceive people or manipulate them at will.

Example

手練手管を尽くして社長に取り入り、役員の座についた。

Using every wile and trick, they wormed their way into the president's favor and landed a seat on the board.

Origin

Both teren (手練) and tekuda (手管) mean a way of deceiving people, and the phrase pairs two words of the same meaning for emphasis. Both are native words of unclear origin, and the kanji are ateji (characters used for their sound). An example appears in the dangibon Endō Tsugan of 1715.

Sources

コトバンクkotobank.jp