do a thing hurriedly at the last moment
Sharpening the sword in time of battle, a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is l í nzh è nm ó D ā o, which means sharpening the sword and sharpening the gun when going to battle. From a dream of Red Mansions.
The origin of Idioms
Chapter 70 of Cao Xueqin's a dream of Red Mansions in the Qing Dynasty: "it's useless to sharpen one's guns in a moment's time. How many people can't finish writing and reciting every day when they are worried?"
Idiom usage
It's no use sharpening one's knife in the face of a situation. It's only by ordinary efforts.
Analysis of Idioms
[synonym]: be prepared, unprepared and eager to dig a well
Chinese PinYin : lín zhèn mó dāo
do a thing hurriedly at the last moment
riddled with a thousand wounds. bǎi kǒng qiān chuāng