肉を切らせて骨を断つ にくをきらせてほねをたつ Meanings Expression, Godan verb to lose a battle to win the war; to incur damage so as to inflict greater damage on a foe (literally: to allow one's flesh to be cut in order to sever another's bone) Kanji 肉 meat. Read as ニク. 切 cut. Read as きる. 骨 bone. Read as ほね. 断 sever. Read as たつ. Word lists Idioms Jinuma: Japanese Dictionary · Word lists