枕戈待旦

Pronunciation: zhěn gē dài dàn Literal meaning: Pillow spear await dawn

Origin & Usage

This comes from the Book of Jin, on Liu Kun, who wrote that he slept with his spear (枕戈) for a pillow waiting for dawn (待旦), determined that a rival should not strike at the invaders before he did. The competitive edge is in the original and usually lost: he was racing a colleague, not only the enemy. Staying ready over a long period and at some cost.

Examples

English: "The security team remained vigilant throughout the night, prepared for any threat"

Chinese: 安保团队整夜保持警惕，准备应对任何威胁