miss by a narrow margin; let slip through one's fingers
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesidiom
to miss by a hair's breadth; to just miss meeting someone or something; to let a good opportunity slip through one's fingers
Originally describes missing someone passing so closely that your arms nearly touched; now used figuratively for missing rare opportunities or chance encounters. The parenthetical explanation (交臂：因彼此走得很靠近而胳膊碰胳膊) clarifies the literal image of arms crossing.
Nà那
cì次
jī机
huì会
nán难
dé得
，
wǒ我
què却
shī失
zhī之
jiāo交
bì臂
，
zhì至
jīn今
ào懊
huǐ悔
bù不
yǐ已
。
That opportunity was extremely rare, but I let it slip through my fingers, and I still regret it deeply.
Tā他
men们
céng曾
zài在
huǒ火
chē车
zhàn站
shī失
zhī之
jiāo交
bì臂
，
méi没
néng能
jiàn见
shàng上
zuì最
hòu后
yī一
miàn面
。
They just missed each other at the train station and were unable to meet for the last time.
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Jī机
huì会
nán难
dé得
，
xìng幸
wù勿
shī失
zhī之
jiāo交
bì臂
。
Such opportunities are hard to come by; I hope you will not let this one slip away.
Wǒ我
yǔ与
zhè这
fèn份
lǐ理
xiǎng想
de的
gōng工
zuò作
shī失
zhī之
jiāo交
bì臂
，
zhǐ只
yīn因
chí迟
dào到
le了
wǔ五
fēn分
zhōng钟
。
I missed out on this ideal job by a hair's breadth, simply because I was five minutes late.