不见棺材不落泪

不见棺材不落泪 [bù jiàn guān cai bú luò lèi]

1. ■ not to shed a tear until one sees the coffin -- refuse to be convinced until one is faced with grim reality; cry only when death is staring one in the face; give up only at the sight of the gallows [coffin]; not to accept defeat until at the end of one's rope [tether]; not to shed tears until one sees his own coffin; not to yield until faced with one's own coffin