백척간두

Korean

Etymology

Sino-Korean word from 百 (“hundred”) + 尺 (“feet (unit of measurement)”) + 竿頭 (“tip of a pole”), from a poem by Tang dynasty Zen monk Changsha Jingcen (788—868).

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [pɛk̚t͡ɕʰʌ̹k̚k͈a̠ndu] ~ [pe̞k̚t͡ɕʰʌ̹k̚k͈a̠ndu]
• Phonetic hangul: [백척깐두/벡척깐두]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	baekcheokgandu
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	baegcheoggandu
McCune–Reischauer?	paekch'ŏkkandu
Yale Romanization?	paykchek.kantwu

Noun

백척간두 • (baekcheokgandu) (hanja 百尺竿頭)

1. (four-character idiom from Classical Chinese) an extremely perilous situation, literally "atop a pole a hundred feet high"

   Synonyms: 진퇴양난(進退兩難), 사면초가(四面楚歌)

   • 2020, Choo Mi-ae, “추미애 '백척간두서 살떨리는 공포 느껴… 흔들림없이 전진' [chumiae baekcheokganduseo saltteollineun gongpo neukkyeo… heundeullimeopsi jeonjin]”, in Hankook Ilbo‎^[1]:

     이 백척간두에서 살떨리는 무서움과 공포를 느낍니다 […] 저의 소임을 접을 수가 없습니다. (Quoting directly from Choo's Facebook post, linked in the article.)

     I baekcheokgandu-eseo saltteollineun museoum-gwa gongpo-reul neukkimnida [ … ] jeo-ui soim-eul jeobeul su-ga eopseumnida.

     I feel bone-chilling fear and terror on this hundred-feet pole […] But I cannot forsake my responsibility.

Usage notes

False friends with the Chinese chengyu of the same source, which means "great heights of success" (as in 百尺竿頭，更進一步 / 百尺竿头，更进一步 (bǎi chǐ gāntóu, gèng jìn yībù)).

Derived terms

• 백척간두진일보 (百尺竿頭進一步, baekcheokgandujinilbo)