敲边鼓

敲边鼓

Literally means:

speak or act to assist some body from the sidelines

Actually means:

back somebody up

It means speaking or acting to assist somebody from the sidelines. It also refers to expressing oneself in a roundabout way. In the former sense, the thing referred to can be either good or bad.

指针对某事在旁边说些鼓动促成的话。也指用迂回的方式说出想说的话。在第一种情况中，所牵涉的事可能是好的或不好的。