“冰冻三尺非一日之寒”，字面意思是“冰冻了三尺，并不是一天的寒冷所能达到的效果（It takes more than one cold day for the river to freeze three feet deep）”。比喻一种情况的形成，是经过长时间的积累、酝酿的，与英文谚语“Rome wasn't built in a day”意思相近，表示“it takes a long time to do a task properly, and you should not rush it or expect to do it quickly”。

例句：

冰冻三尺非一日之寒，凯恩和汤姆都很清楚前方任务艰巨。

Rome was not built in a day, and Kahn and Tom both know there is tough work ahead.

冰冻三尺非一日之寒，成功是建立在耐心追求的基础上，在追求的过程中不会被暂时的失败打倒。

Rome was not built in one day. Success is founded on the basis of patient pursuit that can never be impeded by temporary failures.