to place sb on field of death / to confront with mortal danger / to give sb no way out / with one's back to the wall / looking death in the eye / part of idiom 置之死地而後生|置之死地而后生
(idiom based on Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sun1zi3 Bing1fa3]) to deploy one's troops in such a way that there is no possibility of retreat, so that they will fight for their lives and win the battle / to fight desperately when confronted with mortal danger / to find a way to emerge from a dire situation
to shed one's mortal body and exchange one's bones (idiom) / born again Daoist / to turn over a new leaf / fig. to change wholly / to create from other material (story, artwork etc)
to come back from death's door (idiom) / unexpected rescue from danger / fig. to recover from a seemingly impossible situation / to find a way out of a predicament
lit. to clasp the Buddha's feet when danger arises (idiom) / fig. to profess devotion only when in trouble / doing things at the last minute / making a hasty last-minute effort
(to escape danger etc) by a hair's breadth (idiom) / in a critical state / on the brink of crisis / very close (to happening) / Taiwan pr. [jian4 bu4 rong2 fa3]
the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind (idiom, from Daoist classic Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3]) / to pursue a narrow gain while neglecting a greater danger
lit. to clasp the Buddha's feet when danger arises (idiom) / fig. to profess devotion only when in trouble / doing things at the last minute / to make a hasty last-minute effort (often refers to cramming for exams)
the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind (idiom, from Daoist classic Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子) / to pursue a narrow gain while neglecting a greater danger
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind (idiom, from Daoist classic Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子) / to pursue a narrow gain while neglecting a greater danger
More moral strength increases one's safety, more power and influence increases one's danger (idiom, from Records of the Historian 史記|史记). cf Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it (William Pitt the Elder, 1770).
the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind (idiom, from Daoist classic Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3]) / to pursue a narrow gain while neglecting a greater danger
to make light contact with the edge of sth / (fig.) to be nearly (a certain age) / to be close to (danger) / (fig.) to be marginal (in terms of relevance or legality)
(slang) Something awesome is about to happen! (originally, in a Japanese space battleship anime, it meant "Danger! High energy up ahead!" — a warning to either prepare for battle or take evasive action)
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