jujitsu

or jiu·jit·su

[ joo-jit-soo ]

noun

1. a method developed in Japan of defending oneself without the use of weapons by using the strength and weight of an adversary to disable him.
2. the use of an opponent's strengths or one's own weaknesses to accomplish one's goals:

   That was a kind of intellectual jujitsu, the way she handily won the debate.

   The town of Vacaville, in a prime example of touristic jujitsu, turned its isolation into an attraction in itself.

verb (used with object)

1. to turn (a situation) to one's advantage by exploiting one's own weaknesses or another's strengths, as in a social or political relationship:

   He deftly jujitsued the conversation to make my knowledge of the subject seem pretentious.

jujitsu

/ dʒuːˈdʒɪtsuː /

noun

1. See judo
   the traditional Japanese system of unarmed self-defence perfected by the samurai See also judo

Word History and Origins

Origin of jujitsu¹

First recorded in 1870–75; from Japanese jūjitsu, earlier jūjutsu, equivalent to jū “soft” ( judo ) + -jut(u) “technique,” from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese shù

Word History and Origins

Origin of jujitsu¹

C19: from Japanese, from jū gentleness + jutsu art

Example Sentences

He then followed up that intervention with an even more jaw-dropping act of forensic jujitsu, getting one of his would be killers to confess to the crime.

From Time

Last night, Lieberman began playing jujitsu with the charges in prime time.

From The Daily Beast

And in these bad economic times, the Democrats are using it to achieve a kind of political jujitsu.

From The Daily Beast

Moussa, a career diplomat and far more practiced public speaker, proved himself a master of verbal jujitsu.

From The Daily Beast

Asra Nomani on how the Muslim community rose to her defense in a game of 'shame jujitsu.'

From The Daily Beast

Nancy Snow, a professor of cross-cultural communications at California State University, Fullerton, calls it “shame jujitsu.”

From The Daily Beast

The boys are also taught asanas (postures), sword and lathi (stick) play, and jujitsu.

From Project Gutenberg

He grabbed the extended right arm to give it a jujitsu move up and to the back of the body.

From Project Gutenberg

He reached forward in a jujitsu maneuver, grabbed a coat sleeve and a handful of suit coat.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• judo
• karate
• wrestling