鹬蚌相争,渔翁得利

yù bàng xiāng zhēng , yú wēng dé lì

lit. when the snipe and the clam grapple with each other, the fisherman catches them both (idiom)

fig. when two sides are locked in dispute, it's often a third party that benefits

鹬

yù

common snipe

蚌

bàng

mussel

相

xiāng

each other

争

zhēng

to strive for

,

,

渔

yú

fisherman

翁

wēng

elderly man

得

dé

to obtain

利

lì

sharp