bạng duật
Definition
- Noun:
- The clam and the heron: A term referring to two creatures, a clam and a heron (or crane), derived from a traditional fable. It symbolizes a situation of a deadlock or mutually destructive conflict where two parties are so engrossed in fighting each other that they become vulnerable to a third, external party.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Câu chuyện bạng duật là một bài học về sự xung đột. (The story of the clam and the heron is a lesson about conflict.)
- Hai công ty đang tranh giành thị phần giống như cảnh bạng duật. (The two companies fighting for market share are like the scene of the clam and the heron.)
Advanced Usage
- This term is almost exclusively used in a literary or proverbial context to illustrate the moral of the fable. It is rarely used to refer to the actual animals in modern everyday language.
Variants and Related Words
- Điển tích bạng duật (n): The allusion or classical reference of the "clam and heron" fable.
- Bài viết có sử dụng điển tích bạng duật. (The essay uses the allusion of the clam and heron fable.)
Synonyms
- Deadlock: A situation where no progress can be made.
- Stalemate: A position counting as a draw, in which a player is not in check but cannot move except into check.
- Mutually destructive conflict: A struggle where both sides harm each other severely.
Related Idioms and Proverbs
- Bạng duật tương tranh, ngư ông đắc lợi: (When the clam and the heron grapple, the fisherman profits). This is the complete proverb, equivalent to "When two parties fight, a third benefits" or "Two dogs strive for a bone, and a third runs away with it."
- Đừng để mâu thuẫn nội bộ kéo dài, kẻo thành cảnh bạng duật tương tranh, ngư ông đắc lợi. (Don't let internal conflict persist, lest it becomes a scene where the clam and the heron fight, and the fisherman profits.)