(in elections for village committees in the PRC since the 1990s) unrestricted nomination, a type of election where 1. everyone in the community is eligible to nominate somebody 2. voting is done by writing the name of one's nominee on the ballot, and 3. one's nominee can be anyone in the community (Nominees who receive the highest number of votes may be thereby elected or, more often, presented as the candidates in a further round of voting.) / (in other contexts) selection of the best contender in a process open to all comers / (in the entertainment industry) open audition
half-cooked / (fig.) not completely done, solved, developed etc / Taiwan pr. [jia4 sheng5]
夹生饭
jiā shēng fàn
half-cooked rice / (fig.) half-finished job that is difficult to complete because it was not done properly in the first instance / Taiwan pr. [jia4 sheng5 fan4]
卸磨杀驴
xiè mò shā lu:2
lit. to kill the donkey when the grinding is done (idiom) / to get rid of sb once he has ceased to be useful
taking everything into account (idiom) / when all is said and done
生米做成熟饭
shēng mǐ zuò chéng shú fàn
lit. the raw rice is now cooked (idiom) / fig. it is done and can't be changed / It's too late to change anything now. / also written 生米煮成熟飯|生米煮成熟饭
百废待举
bǎi fèi dài jǔ
many things waiting to be done (idiom) / a thousand things to do
覆水难收
fù shuǐ nán shōu
spilt water is difficult to retrieve (idiom) / it's no use crying over spilt milk / what's done is done and can't be reversed / the damage is done / once divorced, there's no reuniting
速战速决
sù zhàn sù jué
a blitzkrieg strategy (idiom) / to resolve sth in the shortest time possible / to get sth done quickly
九九归一
jiǔ jiǔ guī yī
nine divide by nine is one (abacus rule) / when all is said and done
求人不如求己
qiú rén bù rú qiú jǐ
if you want sth done well, do it yourself (idiom)
知易行难
zhī yì xíng nán
easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice (idiom) / easier said than done
行百里者半九十
xíng bǎi lǐ zhě bàn jiǔ shí
lit. ninety li is merely a half of a hundred li journey (idiom) / fig. the closer one is to completing a task, the tougher it gets / a task is not done until it's done
米已成炊
mǐ yǐ chéng chuī
lit. the rice has already been cooked (idiom) / fig. what is done cannot be undone
百废待兴
bǎi fèi dài xīng
many things waiting to be done (idiom) / a thousand things to do
怎么得了
zěn me dé liǎo
how can this be? / what's to be done? / what an awful mess!
事情要做
shì qíng yào zuò
work that needs to be done / business that needs to be attended to
一蹴即至
yī cù jí zhì
to get there in one step (idiom) / easily done / success at a stroke / to get results overnight
不以规矩，不能成方圆
bù yǐ guī ju , bù néng chéng fāng yuán
without rules, nothing can be done (idiom, from Mencius) / one must follow some rules
When the girl smiles, the matchmaker's job is half done. (idiom)
己所不欲，勿施于人
jǐ suǒ bù yù , wù shī yú rén
What you don't want done to you, don't do to others. (idiom, from the Confucian analects) / Do as you would be done by. / Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.
没有规矩，不成方圆
méi yǒu guī ju , bù chéng fāng yuán
without rules, nothing can be done (idiom) / one must follow some rules
没有规矩，何以成方圆
méi yǒu guī jǔ , hé yǐ chéng fāng yuán
without rules, how can anything be done (idiom) / one must follow some rules
lit. to blow out the lamp and put out the candle (idiom) / fig. to die / to bite the dust / to be over and done with
没有规矩，何以成方圆
méi yǒu guī ju , hé yǐ chéng fāng yuán
without rules, how can anything be done (idiom) / one must follow some rules
抓哏
zhuā gén
(of a comedian) to seize on something sb has just said or done to make an ad lib joke
领盒饭
lǐng hé fàn
(coll.) (of an actor with a bit part) to receive a boxed meal when one's job is done (phrase used e.g. by movie viewers when a character dies)
得便宜卖乖
dé pián yi mài guāi
to have benefited from sth but pretend otherwise / to claim to be hard done by, even though one has benefited
非一日之功
fēi yī rì zhī gōng
lit. cannot be done in one day (idiom) / fig. will take much time and effort to accomplish
大恩不言谢
dà ēn bù yán xiè
(maxim) a mere "thank you" is an insufficient response to a huge favor / (expression of gratitude) words cannot express my appreciation for what you have done
凉凉
liáng liáng
slightly cold / cool / (neologism) (slang) to be done for / about to be obliterated / (of a place or a person) desolate
说一千，道一万
shuō yī qiān , dào yī wàn
when all is said and done / at the end of the day
前无古人，后无来者
qián wú gǔ rén , hòu wú lái zhě
there has never been and never will be another person like this (idiom) / never done before and unlikely to be matched in the future / peerless
网下
wǎng xià
(of an activity) off-line (not done over the Internet)
补办
bǔ bàn
to do sth after the time it should have been done / to do sth to make up for not having done it before / to reapply for (a lost document, card etc)
说干就干
shuō gàn jiù gàn
to do what needs to be done, without delay
争取时效
zhēng qǔ shí xiào
to strive to get sth done while the timing is right
卖乖
mài guāi
to show off one's cleverness / (of sb who has received beneficial treatment) to profess to have been hard done by
shú