cửa ngầm
Definition
- Noun:
- A hidden or secret door/gate: A concealed entrance, often built into a wall, fortification, or underground structure, designed to be invisible or difficult to detect from the outside.
- A sally port: A secure, secondary gate in a castle or fortress wall, used for discreet exits, entrances, or surprise attacks.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Lâu đài này có một cửa ngầm bí mật dẫn ra bên ngoài. (This castle has a secret sally port leading to the outside.)
- Bọn trẻ tưởng tượng chiếc tủ áo là một cửa ngầm đến một thế giới khác. (The children imagined the wardrobe was a hidden door to another world.)
- Quân lính thoát ra ngoài qua cửa ngầm. (The soldiers escaped through the postern gate.)
Advanced Usage
- Used metaphorically: Can describe a hidden method, a secret channel, or a backdoor (especially in technology or bureaucracy).
- Phần mềm đó bị cáo buộc có cửa ngầm cho hacker. (That software is alleged to have a backdoor for hackers.)
Variants and Related Words
- Cửa bí mật: Secret door (more general, not necessarily in a fortification).
- Cửa sau: Back door (can be literal or metaphorical for an illicit or unofficial method).
- Lối thoát hiểm: Emergency exit (focuses on escape function).
Synonyms
- Postern (gate): (Technical/historical term) A secondary gate or door, especially in a fortification.
- Sally port: A secure, controlled gate allowing passage from a fortification to the outside.
- Hidden door/secret entrance: General terms for a concealed way in or out.
Related Phrases/Idioms
- Mở cửa ngầm: To open/use a backdoor (often metaphorical, implying using unofficial or secret channels).
- Hắn ta mở cửa ngầm để đưa hàng lậu vào. (He used a backchannel to smuggle the goods in.)