The word 偃旗息鼓 is formed by combining two verb-object phrases: 偃旗, meaning "to lower flags", and 息鼓, meaning "to silence drums", where 偃 means "to lay down", 旗 means "flags", 息 means "to cease", and 鼓 means "drums". These phrases are joined in parallel to depict the literal action of stopping military signals, resulting in a compound idiom that conveys halting an activity.