临阵磨枪

Traditional form:

臨陣磨槍

Pinyin (reading):

línzhènmóqiāng

Definitions:

• lit. to sharpen one's spear only before going into battle (idiom)
• fig. to make preparations only at the last moment

Characters:

• 临 - to draw near, to approach; to descend
• 阵 - row, column; ranks, troop formation
• 磨 - millstone; to grind, to polish, to rub, to wear out
• 枪 - gun, rife; lance, spear

Traditional characters:

• 臨 - to draw near, to approach; to descend
• 陣 - row, column; ranks, troop formation
• 磨 - millstone; to grind, to polish, to rub, to wear out
• 槍 - gun, rife; lance, spear