因噎廢食

lit. not eating for fear of choking (idiom); fig. to cut off one's nose to spite one's face / to avoid sth essential because of a slight risk

old variant of 因[yin1]

cause / reason / because

to choke (on) / to choke up / to suffocate

to abolish / to abandon / to abrogate / to discard / to depose / to oust / crippled / abandoned / waste

to eat / food / animal feed / eclipse

to feed (a person or animal)