临阵磨枪 (lín zhèn mó) — to begin preparing only at the last moment; last‑minute rush
Definition
A chengyu describing last-minute cramming right before a battle or deadline. Carries a negative tone — the preparation is too late to be truly effective.
idiom
to begin preparing only at the last momentlast‑minute rush
Examples
- 临阵磨枪，。Kǎo shì qián yì wǎn cái lín zhèn mó, xiào guǒ tōng cháng bú huì tài hǎo.Cramming the night before an exam usually doesn't work very well.
- ，临阵磨枪。Tā píng shí bú fù xí, měi cì dōu shì lín zhèn mó.He doesn't review regularly; every time he just prepares at the last minute.
- 临阵磨枪，。Xiàng mù jié zhǐ qián sān tiān cái lín zhèn mó, tuán duì yā lì hěn dà.Starting the preparation only three days before the project deadline put the team under a lot of pressure.
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