临崖勒马 lín yá lè mǎ rein in the horse at the cliff

Explanation

比喻在危险的边缘及时停住。

A metaphor for stopping in time on the brink of danger.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，有个名叫李白的诗人，一次他去游山玩水，来到一座山崖边上，景色十分优美，李白被眼前的景色迷住了，兴致勃勃地策马向前。不知不觉中，他已来到山崖的边缘，万丈深渊就在脚下。这时，他听到一声马嘶，这才惊觉自己已处在危险的境地，急忙勒紧缰绳，马儿才堪堪止步，才避免了坠崖的危险。从此以后，李白每每遇到危险时都会想起这次的经历，从而使自己及时悬崖勒马，避免了更大的损失。

huà shuō táng cháo shí qī, yǒu gè míng jiào lǐ bái de shī rén, yī cì tā qù yóu shān wán shuǐ, lái dào yī zuò shān yá biān shang, jǐngsè shí fēn yōu měi, lǐ bái bèi yǎn qián de jǐngsè mí zhù le, xìng zhì bó bó dì cè mǎ xiàng qián. bù zhī bù jué zhōng, tā yǐ lái dào shān yá de biān yuán, wàn zhàng shēnyuān jiù zài jiǎo xià. zhè shí, tā tīng dào yī shēng mǎ sī, cái cái jīng jué zìjǐ yǐ chǔ zài wēixiǎn de jìngdì, jímáng lè jǐn jiāng shéng, mǎ ér cái kān kān zhǐ bù, cái bìmiǎn le zhuì yá de wēixiǎn. cóng cǐ yǐ hòu, lǐ bái měi měi yù dào wēixiǎn shí dōu huì xiǎng qǐ zhè cì de jīng lì, cóng'ér shǐ zìjǐ jí shí xuányá lè mǎ, bìmiǎn le gèng dà de sǔnshī.

It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, there was a poet named Li Bai. Once, when he was traveling to enjoy the scenery, he came to the edge of a mountain cliff. The scenery was so beautiful that Li Bai was mesmerized, and he rode his horse forward with great interest. Unknowingly, he had arrived at the edge of the cliff, with a thousand-foot abyss at his feet. At this moment, he heard a neigh of his horse, and he realized that he was in danger. He quickly tightened the reins, and the horse stopped just in time, avoiding the danger of falling off the cliff. From then on, whenever Li Bai encountered danger, he would recall this experience and thus would always stop himself at the edge of the cliff, avoiding greater losses.

Usage

用作谓语、定语；含褒义；指在危险的边缘及时停住。

yòng zuò wèiyǔ, dìngyǔ; hán bāoyì; zhǐ zài wēixiǎn de biānyuán jíshí tíng zhù

Used as predicate, attributive; with positive connotation; to stop in time on the brink of danger.

Examples

• 他悬崖勒马，及时止损，避免了更大的损失。

  tā xuányá lè mǎ, jíshí zhǐsǔn, bìmiǎn le gèng dà de sǔnshī

  He pulled back from the brink, stopped his losses in time and avoided greater losses.

• 在面对诱惑时，我们应该学会临崖勒马，保持清醒的头脑。

  zài miàn duì yòuhòu shí, wǒmen yīnggāi xuéhuì lín yá lè mǎ, bǎochí qīngxǐng de tóunǎo

  When facing temptation, we should learn to rein in our horses at the edge of a cliff and keep a clear mind.

Related Idioms

• 悬崖

• 勒马

Opposite Idioms

• 铤而走险

• 孤注一掷