折腰

to bend at the waist / to bow / (fig.) to bow to / to submit

to snap / to break (a stick, a bone etc) / (bound form) to sustain a loss (in business)

to turn sth over / to turn upside down / to tip sth out (of a container)

to break / to fracture / to snap / to suffer loss / to bend / to twist / to turn / to change direction / convinced / to convert into (currency) / discount / rebate / tenth (in price) / classifier for theatrical scenes / to fold / accounts book

variant of 折[zhe2] / to fold

waist / lower back / pocket / middle / loins

(allusion to Tao Qian 陶潛|陶潜[Tao2 Qian2], who used this phrase when he resigned from government service rather than show subservience to a visiting inspector) to bow and scrape for five pecks of rice (that being a part of his salary as a local magistrate) / (fig.) to compromise one's principles for the sake of a salary