好钢用在刀刃上

Mandarin

simpl. 好钢用在刀刃上
trad. 好鋼用在刀刃上

Etymology

  • Literally, "To use the good steel on the knife's edge."

Verb

好钢用在刀刃上 (simplified, Pinyin hǎo gāng yòng zài dāorèn shàng, traditional 好鋼用在刀刃上)

  1. (idiomatic) to use the best resources in the most important areas
    灾后重建必须好钢用在刀刃上。
    zāi hòu chóngjiàn bìxū hǎo gāng yòng zài dāorèn shàng
    When rebuilding after a disaster, one must put the resources where they count.

References

  • 2005, Yu Feng; Zhijie Jia, Jie Cai, Yaohua Shi, Judith M. Amory, Pop Chinese: A Cheng & Tsui Handbook Of Contemporary Colloquial Expressions (Cheng & Tsui Asian Dictionary Series) (话是这么说：中国当代流行语手册) (in English/Chinese), Boston: Cheng & Tsui, ISBN 0-88727-424-2:
Last modified on 11 May 2012, at 17:08