📖 Meaning
A single oversight in a hundred careful precautions. It describes a situation where despite thorough and meticulous planning, one small detail is overlooked, leading to an unexpected flaw or failure.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Qing dynasty scholar Wei Yuan's work 'Yong Yi Tong Yi' (《庸易通义》), where he discussed the relationship between knowledge and action in Confucian learning. Wei Yuan pointed out that even in the most systematic approaches to study and self-cultivation, separating 'reviewing the old' from 'exploring the new' could reveal a minor flaw in an otherwise comprehensive framework. The idiom later gained wider literary usage, notably appearing in Mao Dun's novel 'Midnight' (《子夜》), where the protagonist Wu Sunfu fails to see through Du Zhuzhai's true intentions despite his usual shrewdness.
💡 Example Usage
比赛前他反复检查了装备，却百密一疏忘了带地图。
He checked his equipment repeatedly before the race, but in a hundred precautions overlooked one thing—he forgot to bring the map.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 百密一疏
- Pinyin: bǎi mì yī shū
- Literal Translation: hundred, careful, one, oversight
- Category: Wisdom
- Characters: 4