磨刀不误砍柴工

lit. sharpening the axe won't make the wood-splitting take longer (idiom) / fig. time invested in preparations is not lost / a beard well lathered is half shaved

to rub / to grind / to polish / to sharpen / to wear down / to die out / to waste time / to pester / to insist

grindstone / to grind / to turn round

to hone (a knife)

knife / blade / single-edged sword / cutlass / CL:把[ba3] / (slang) dollar (loanword) / classifier for sets of one hundred sheets (of paper) / classifier for knife cuts or stabs

no; not so / (bound form) not; un-

used in expressions of the form 照V不誤|照V不误[zhao4 xx5 bu4 wu4], in which V is a verb, 照[zhao4] means "as before", and the overall meaning is "carry on (doing sth) regardless" or "continue (to do sth) in spite of changed circumstances", e.g. 照買不誤|照买不误[zhao4 mai3 bu4 wu4], to keep on buying (a product) regardless (of price hikes)

mistake / error / to miss / to harm / to delay / to neglect / mistakenly

to chop / to cut down / to throw sth at sb

firewood / lean (of meat) / thin (of a person)

work / worker / skill / profession / trade / craft / labor