悬崖勒马

Pronunciation: xuán yá lè mǎ Literal meaning: Pull horse at cliff edge

Origin & Usage

Reining in (勒) the horse (马) at the lip of the cliff (悬崖). No incident lies behind it, and this exact wording is late — the attested examples are Qing, in Ji Yun — while the older form of the image is 临崖勒马, coming up to the edge rather than hanging over it. The force is all in the timing: the rider is already there, still moving, and there is exactly one moment left. That is why it is almost never a description of what somebody did. It is said to a person, usually urgently, and often by somebody with no authority to stop them — the last thing available once argument has run out.

Examples

English: "The company halted the risky project just before major losses occurred"

Chinese: 公司在发生重大损失之前及时叫停了高风险项目