cuó zi lǐ bá jiāng jūn
lit. to choose a general among the dwarves (idiom)
fig. to pick the best out of a bad group
矬
cuó
short
子
zi
noun suffix, as in 椅子[yi3 zi5] "chair"
里
lǐ
li, ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m
拔
bá
to pull up
将
jiāng
will
军
jūn
(bound form) army
