Very often people get into trouble because they act on something which they know only a little about, and it turns out that their knowledge is not adequate enough to deal with the problem they have.

很多时候，人们会遇上麻烦是因为他们凭借着一知半解的知识就采取行动，但结果显示他们的知识并不足以应付手头上的问题。

youdao

When you wait for something or someone, you spend some time doing very little, because you cannot act until that thing happens or that person arrives.

当等待某人或某事时，你长时间无所适从，无所事事，因为在某事发生或某人到来之前你素手无策！

youdao

Because of what the music does formally, there is little chance that we will see a Top Ten black-metal act.

NEWYORKER: The Dark Arts