一着不慎 (yī zhāo) — (set phrase) one careless move spoils the entire game; a single misstep leads to total failure
Definition
An idiom from the world of board games: 'one careless move and the whole game is lost.' Use it for a single small slip that causes total failure, not for general mistakes.
idiom
(set phrase) one careless move spoils the entire gamea single misstep leads to total failure
Examples
- ，一着不慎。Zài tóu zī jué cè shàng, yī zhāo jiù kě néng dǎo zhì quán bù kuī sǔn.In investment decisions, one careless move can lead to total loss.
- ，一着不慎，。Zuò xiàng mù jì huà bì xū kǎo lǜ zhōu quán, fǒu zé yī zhāo, mǎn pán jiē shū.When planning a project you must think it through completely, otherwise one wrong move and you lose the whole game.
- ，一着不慎，。Tā xià qí shí guò yú zì xìn, jié guǒ yī zhāo, shū diào le zhěng chǎng bǐ sài.He was overconfident in the chess game, and one careless move cost him the entire match.
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