false start

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• ① 赛跑时起步过早
  • They finally got under way after three false starts.他们三次起步过早之后,终于按时起跑了。

• ② 失败而必须放弃的开头
  • After few false starts, we managed to get the company off the ground.开始几次失败之后,我们总算使公司成功地开张了。