八字沒一撇 [ㄅㄚ ㄗˋ ㄇㄟˊ ㄧ ㄆㄧㄝˇ; ba1 zi4 mei2 yi1 pie3] lit. there is not even the first stroke of the character 八 things have not even begun to take shape no sign of success yet ◄ ►