Echoes 《左传·襄公二十六年》: 善为国者，赏不僭而刑不滥…若不幸而过，宁僭不滥 ("a good ruler errs on the side of restraint rather than excess"). The modern variant 宁缺毋滥 (nìngquēwúlàn) uses 毋 in place of 勿 — same meaning.
usage
Frequently used about hiring, dating, university admissions, or product curation — anything where standards matter more than filling a quota.
