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今日长缨在手

今日長纓在手
jīnrì chángyīng zài shǒu
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 today the long cord is in my hand
  2. 2 the moment is at last ripe to capture the enemy
  3. 3 lit. today long-cord is-at hand

Examples

HSK 5
项目准备就绪，今日长缨在手，就看执行了。
Xiàngmù zhǔnbèi jiùxù, jīnrìchángyīngzàishǒu, jiù kàn zhíxíng le.
The project is ready - 'today the long cord is in hand' - now it all depends on execution.
HSK 7-9
队伍集结完毕，可谓今日长缨在手，何时缚住苍龙？
Duìwǔ jíjié wánbì, kěwèi jīnrìchángyīngzàishǒu, héshí fùzhù cānglóng?
The team is fully assembled - 'today the long cord is in hand; when shall we bind the blue dragon?'

Tips

history
From 毛泽东《清平乐·六盘山》 (Mao Zedong, 1935), written near the end of the Long March: 天高云淡，望断南飞雁……今日长缨在手，何时缚住苍龙？ (Sky high, clouds thin, my gaze follows the south-flying geese... today the long cord is in my hand - when shall I bind the blue dragon?) 长缨 alludes to 《汉书·终军传》 where the young official Zhong Jun asks for a 'long cord' to tie up the king of Nanyue; here, the enemy is Japan.
usage
Always quoted with the matching rhetorical question 何时缚住苍龙. 长缨 = long silk cord for binding captives - a 2000-year-old literary allusion. Modern usage: announce that conditions are finally ready for a decisive move.

Stroke Order

今 jīn
日 rì
长 cháng
缨 yīng
在 zài
手 shǒu