Definition

1. Verb:
   • To catch someone's tell / to spot someone's giveaway: To detect a subtle, revealing sign or weakness that exposes someone's true intentions, guilt, or hidden flaw.
   • To catch someone out / to trip someone up: To use a discovered inconsistency or mistake to force someone into an admission or to gain an advantage over them.

Usage Examples

• (The police caught the suspect out through a small detail in his statement.)
• (The lawyer spotted the witness's tell that he was lying.)
• (The opponent caught out the weakness in our strategy.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in contexts of interrogation, debate, competition, or strategy, where one party discerns a critical flaw or revealing sign in the other.
• It implies not just noticing, but effectively using that observation to apply pressure or gain the upper hand.

Variants and Related Words

• Nắm thóp (v): To have someone at a disadvantage; to have a firm grip on someone's weakness. This is a stronger, more controlling variant.
  • Hắn đã bị đối thủ nắm thóp. (He was firmly in his opponent's grip due to his exposed weakness.)

Synonyms

• To detect a weakness: To discover a point of vulnerability.
• To catch someone red-handed: To discover someone in the act of doing something wrong (though this implies more direct evidence).
• To pinpoint a flaw: To identify a defect or error precisely.

Related Idioms

• "Bắt bài": To figure out someone's trick or scheme. This is closely related but often refers to understanding a pattern or method rather than a single revealing sign.
  • Tôi đã bắt bài thủ đoạn của hắn. (I figured out his trick.)

verb

1. To see the cloven hoof of, to know the ulterior motive of
   • kẻ gian bị bắt thóp đã phải khai ra cả
     the criminal had to confess everything because his ulterior motive was known (because his cloven hoof was seen)