盲人瞎马

Pronunciation: máng rén xiā mǎ Literal meaning: Blind man blind horse

Origin & Usage

The New Account of Tales of the World records a party game in which the guests competed to name the most dangerous thing. One offered a blind man (盲人) on a blind horse (瞎马) at midnight, at the edge of a deep pool. Yin Zhongkan, who was present and blind in one eye, said that this one cut rather close. The image is the most economical statement of compounded risk in the language: neither rider nor mount can see, so there is no redundancy anywhere in the system, and the phrase is used of exactly that situation.

Examples

English: "Navigating life without a plan is like a blind man on a blind horse, leading to uncertainty."

Chinese: 没有计划地生活就像盲人瞎马，充满了不确定性。