play both sides against the middle

Meaning: (idiomatic)Tomanipulateopponentsorcompetitorsin a manner whichbenefitsthe manipulator.1932,George Jean Nathan,Henry Louis Mencken,The American Mercury, page383:Some of the lesser Democrats, especially in the remoter reaches of the Bible country, have the same yearning, but they are not as numerous as the Republicans, all of whom have been greatly embarrassed by Dr. Hoover's laborious efforts toplay both sides against the middle.1978,Intercontinental Press/Inprecor, volume16, page1127:While the Kremlin stood by and tried toplay both sides against the middle, the defeat of the Palestinians in Lebanon helped establish the political atmosphere that enabled Sadat to make his trip to Jerusalem.1999, Margaret Jones,Patsy: the Life and Times of Patsy Cline, page50:Patsy may have beenplaying both sides against the middlein an effort to get her career going and to get herself out from under Peer's pressuring and the sexual demands he placed on her.2005,T. J. English,Paddy Whacked: the Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster, page133:Luciano went aboutplaying both sides against the middleuntil the two families went at each other in the famously bloody Castellamarese War later in the decade...

Examples:

EN: As the humans say, play both sides against the middle.
ES: Como dicen los humanos: divide y vencerás.
EN: -David, we can play both sides against the middle.
ES: David, podemos enfrentar a ambos bandos uno contra otro.
EN: You play both sides against the middle.
ES: Haces pelear a los dos bandos.
ID: Kau memainkan kedua sisi untuk melawan yang tengah.
EN: Instead, why not play both sides against the middle?
ES: En cambio, ¿por qué no jugar para ambos bandos en tu beneficio?
ID: Kenapa tidak memperdaya mereka?
EN: Are you trying to play both sides against the middle here, like...
ES: ¿Intentas jugar a dos bandas para tu propio beneficio?
ID: Apa kau mencoba bermain untuk kedua pihak... ketimbang bersikap netral?
EN: Juan likes to play both sides against the middle.
HI: वह दोनों छेद में उसे खिलौना प्यार करता है
EN: The idea is to play both sides against the middle!
HI: निभाने की चाहत दोनों तरफ से हो!
TE: అంటే, రెండూ కేంద్రంలోని భాజపాకి వ్యతిరేకంగా ఉన్నట్టే కదా!
EN: Willing to play both sides against the middle.
HI: निभाने की चाहत दोनों तरफ से हो!
EN: In a film that is about such awful people, casting Hanks lets you play both sides against the middle.
ID: Dalam film tentang orang-orang jahat, memilih Hanks membuat mereka bisa mendukung kedua pihak.
EN: Don't play both sides against the middle.
ID: Jangan mengadu domba!
EN: It's hard to successfully play both sides against the middle and not get found out.
TE: ఇద్దరు హీరోల్ని ఒకేసారి వెదికి పట్టుకుని, కథని పట్టాలెక్కించడం చాలా కష్టం.
EN: Today, they want to play both sides against the middle.
TE: ఇప్పుడు కూడా వారు ఇరు ప్రాంతాల్లో పార్టీని రక్షించుకునే ఉద్దేశ్యంతోనే సమన్వయంగా ముందుకు సాగుతున్నట్టుగా కనిపిస్తోంది.

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