悬崖勒马

xuányálèmǎ

rein in at the brink of the precipice—wake up to danger at the last moment

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wake up to and avoid danger at the last moment

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wake up to and avoid danger at the last moment

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xuan2 ya2 le4 ma3

lit. to rein in the horse at the edge of the precipice (idiom); fig. to act in the nick of time

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悬崖勒马

xuán yá lè mǎ; xuán ái lè mǎ

rein in on (at) the brink of the precipice -- avoid imminent disaster; desist from doing sth. before it is too late; draw (rein) in one's horse at the edge of a cliff; pull back (reform) before it is too late; stop one's horse on coming to the precipice; stop on the edge of the precipice and not go any farther; wake up and escape disaster at the last moment; ward off disaster at the critical moment:

提出抗议， 要他们悬崖勒马， 停止挑衅 lodge a protest demanding that they rein in on the brink of the precipice and stop all provocations;

现在是你悬崖勒马的时候了。 Now is the time for you to pull back before it is too late.

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懸崖勒馬|悬崖勒马 [xuán yá lè mǎ] ► lit. to rein in the horse at the edge of the precipice (idiom); fig. to act in the nick of time