(I thought this was scheduled to pop automatically yesterday, but… it wasn’t, and I was remiss in failing to check. My apologies for the delay.)

胆大心小
tan.dai.shin.shou

Literally: gall bladder / courage – big – heart / mind – small

Alternately: Not being fearful when it comes to taking action, but also paying attention to the fine details. Both bold and careful; proactive and meticulous.

Notes: A variant replaces 小 with 細 (sai), “small (detail).”

This compound comes to us from the Old Book of Tang (『旧唐書』, in Japanese Kutoujo), a history form the “Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms” period about the Tang era.

From a live-action drama called 胆大心小頑張ります – Tandai shinshou ganbarimasu – but I feel like the main character’s barber could have used a little less 胆大 and a little more 心小.