旁敲侧击

páng qiāo cè jī

to hint in a roundabout way

Character by character

旁páng
from the side

敲qiāo
knock

侧cè
from the flank

击jī
strike

他不好意思直接问，只好旁敲侧击地打听。

Too embarrassed to ask directly, he could only fish for it in a roundabout way.

Tone: neutral.

Learn this in Lesson 213 · HSK 9+: 弦外之音 (What is left unsaid)

A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.