摸着石头过河
test each step before taking it; advance cautiously; grope across the river by feeling the way
例句：中国在改革伊始就采取了坚定而谨慎的策略，用总设计师邓小平的话说叫做“摸着石头过河”。
In the Chinese reform, a determined but cautious approach had been adopted from the beginning. To quote from Deng Xiaoping, the chief architecture of the reform, it is called "groping across the river by feeling the way".
