出处：按学科分类—语言、文字 中国对外翻译出版公司《汉英成语词典》第211页（258字）
形容在外交、政治上运用各种手段进行联络、分化或争取、对抗对方，例他虽已白发苍苍，但在外交上纵横捭阖、力挽狂澜的气魄仍不减当年。
His hair may be white，but when it comes to manoeuvring among foreign policy makers，he is just as astute as ever in saving a desperate situation．