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今日长缨在手

今日長纓在手
jīnrìchángyīngzàishǒu
phrase

Meanings

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

Examples

项目准备就绪，今日长缨在手，就看执行了。
Xiàngmù zhǔnbèi jiùxù, jīnrì chángyīng zài shǒu, jiù kàn zhíxíng le.
The project is ready — 'today the long cord is in hand' — now it all depends on execution.
队伍集结完毕，可谓今日长缨在手，何时缚住苍龙？
Duìwǔ jíjié wánbì, kěwèi jīnrì chángyīng zài shǒu, 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, Qing Ping Yue: Liupan Mountain, 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 (entry 834 in this set). 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