一丝一毫
yī sī yī háo
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1 one thread, one hair (idiom); a tiny bit
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2 an iota
一丝不挂
yī sī bù guà
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1 not wearing one thread (idiom); absolutely naked
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2 without a stitch of clothing
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3 in one's birthday suit
一丝不苟
yī sī bù gǒu
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1 not one thread loose (idiom); strictly according to the rules
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2 meticulous
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3 not one hair out of place
一网打尽
yī wǎng dǎ jìn
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1 lit. to catch everything in the one net (idiom)
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2 fig. to scoop up the whole lot
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3 to capture them all in one go
不是鱼死就是网破
bù shì yú sǐ jiù shì wǎng pò
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1 lit. either the fish dies or the net gets torn (idiom)
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2 fig. it's a life-and-death struggle
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3 it's either him or me
人是铁饭是钢
rén shì tiě fàn shì gāng
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1 one can't function properly on an empty stomach (idiom)
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2 an empty sack cannot stand upright
只要功夫深,铁杵磨成针
zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn , tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn
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1 If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle.
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2 cf idiom 磨杵成針|磨杵成针, to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task
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3 to study diligently
吐丝自缚
tǔ sī zì fù
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1 to spin a cocoon around oneself (idiom); enmeshed in a trap of one's own devising
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2 hoist with his own petard
单丝不成线,独木不成林
dān sī bù chéng xiàn , dú mù bù chéng lín
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1 one strand does not make a thread, one tree does not make a forest (idiom)
严丝合缝
yán sī hé fèng
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1 to fit tightly (idiom)
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2 to join seamlessly
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3 to fit snugly
天网恢恢
tiān wǎng huī huī
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1 lit. heaven's net has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it (idiom, from Laozi 73)
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2 fig. the way of Heaven is fair, but the guilty will not escape
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3 you can't run from the long arm of the law
天网恢恢,疏而不失
tiān wǎng huī huī , shū ér bù shī
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1 lit. heaven's net has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it (idiom, from Laozi 73)
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2 fig. the way of Heaven is fair, but the guilty will not escape
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3 you can't run from the long arm of the law
天网恢恢,疏而不漏
tiān wǎng huī huī , shū ér bù lòu
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1 lit. heaven's net has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it (idiom, from Laozi 73)
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2 fig. the way of Heaven is fair, but the guilty will not escape
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3 you can't run from the long arm of the law
天罗地网
tiān luó dì wǎng
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1 inescapable net (idiom)
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2 trap
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3 dragnet
恨铁不成钢
hèn tiě bù chéng gāng
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1 lit. to hate iron for not becoming steel
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2 to feel resentful towards sb for failing to meet expectations and impatient to see improvement (idiom)
手无寸铁
shǒu wú cùn tiě
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1 lit. not an inch of steel (idiom); unarmed and defenseless
抽丝剥茧
chōu sī bāo jiǎn
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1 lit. to spin silk from cocoons
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2 fig. to make a painstaking investigation (idiom)
撒网捕风
sā wǎng bǔ fēng
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1 lit. the wind cannot be caught in a net
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2 to waste one's effort (idiom)
斩钉截铁
zhǎn dīng jié tiě
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1 lit. to chop the nail and slice the iron (idiom)
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2 fig. resolute and decisive
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3 unhesitating
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4 categorical
法网难逃
fǎ wǎng nán táo
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1 it is hard to escape the net of justice (idiom)