失之交臂

shīzhījiāobì
  1. to miss narrowly
  2. to let a great opportunity slip

CEDICT

to narrowly miss a golden opportunity (to meet someone, etc.)

Wiktionary

錯失良機。參見「交臂失之」條。

重編國語辭典

Entry Composition

1 失 shī
  1. to lose
  2. to miss
  3. to fail
2 之 zhī
  1. (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的 de)
  2. him
  3. her
  4. it
3 交臂 jiāobì
  1. linking arms
  2. arm in arm
  3. very close