bới móc
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To pick out for hostile criticism, to nitpick: To deliberately and often unfairly search for and point out minor faults or shortcomings in someone, typically with a negative or malicious intent.
- To dig up dirt, to rake over the past: To uncover and expose old, often private or embarrassing, details about a person's life in order to criticize or shame them.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Một số tờ báo thích bới móc đời tư của người nổi tiếng. (Some newspapers like to pick to pieces the private lives of celebrities.)
- Đừng bới móc những lỗi nhỏ trong báo cáo của cô ấy. (Don't nitpick the minor errors in her report.)
- Họ không thảo luận vấn đề mà chỉ bới móc lẫn nhau. (They didn't discuss the issue; they just picked each other to pieces.)
Advanced Usage
- The action of bới móc implies a persistent, digging, and often unkind scrutiny. It is stronger and more negative than simple criticism.
- It is commonly used in contexts of journalism, gossip, personal conflicts, and online commentary where private matters are exposed.
Variants and Related Words
- Bới lông tìm vết (idiomatic verb phrase): Literally "to part the fur to find a scar," meaning to go out of one's way to find fault, to nitpick obsessively.
- Anh ta luôn bới lông tìm vết với đồng nghiệp. (He always goes out of his way to find fault with his colleagues.)
Synonyms
- To nitpick: To criticize minor details.
- To pick apart/holes in something: To criticize something by pointing out flaws.
- To dig up dirt: To discover and reveal damaging information.
- To rake over the coals/ashes: To revive and discuss past mistakes or embarrassments.
Related Idioms
- Bới móc chuyện cũ: To dig up old stories/the past.
- Cô ấy cứ bới móc chuyện cũ mãi. (She keeps digging up old stories.)
- Bới móc lỗi lầm: To pick at/fish for mistakes.
- Việc bới móc lỗi lầm không giúp ích gì cho tinh thần đồng đội. (Picking at mistakes does nothing for team spirit.)
verb
- To pick out for hostile criticism, to pick to pieces
- bới móc đời tư của người khácto pick to pieces shortcomings in others' private life