also: いっぽう
noun
snipe and clam; snipe and mussel
Literary term from the Chinese fable 'The Snipe and the Clam'; used almost exclusively in the set phrase 鷸蚌の争い (the quarrel of the snipe and the clam), meaning a dispute where both sides lose to a third party.
See also: 鷸蚌の争い
「鷸蚌の争い」ということわざは、二者が争っている間に第三者が利益を得ることを戒めている。
The proverb 'the quarrel of the snipe and the clam' warns that while two parties fight, a third may profit.
The full proverb; 鷸蚌 alone is rarely used outside this phrase.
From the classical Chinese fable 'The Snipe and the Clam' (鹬蚌相争), where a snipe and a clam become locked in a struggle, allowing a fisherman to catch both. The Japanese reading いつぼう (or いっぽう) is the on'yomi of the characters.