抱佛脚

抱佛腳

bào fó jiǎo

Meanings

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bào fó jiǎo

1.(fig.) to scramble to make up for a lack of preparation; to make a frantic, last-ditch effort; to cram for an exam (cf. 平時不燒香，平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚[píng shí bù shāo xiāng , lín shí bào fó jiǎo])

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Wiktionary

1.to leave something to do at the last minute; to make a last-minute effort
2.to profess Buddhism

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Etymology

The sense of "profess Buddhism" was attested in Meng Jiao's poem: The sense of "to do something at last minute" is short for 平時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳 /平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚 (píngshí bù shāoxiāng, línshí bào fójiǎo), an idiom which was derived from the above poem.

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