短中抽长 duǎn zhōng chōu cháng

DEFINITIONS

  1. to make the best of a bad job
  2. to make the best use of limited resources (idiom)

CHARACTERS

短 duǎn short; brief; deficient, lacking
中 zhōng central; center, middle; in the midst of; hit (target); attain
抽 chōu draw out, pull out; sprout
长 cháng long; length; excel in; leader