con cà con kê
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Idiom:
- To ramble on, to talk at length about trivial or irrelevant details: This idiom describes speech that is long-winded, digressive, and focuses on minor, often pointless, details instead of the main subject. It implies beating around the bush.
- To argue or bicker over petty, insignificant matters: It can also refer to a protracted, nitpicking argument about trivial things.
Usage Examples
- Idiom:
- Đừng có con cà con kê nữa, đi thẳng vào vấn đề chính đi. (Stop rambling on; get straight to the main point.)
- Hai người đó ngồi con cà con kê cả buổi về chuyện ai mua cà phê. (Those two spent the whole afternoon bickering over who bought the coffee.)
Advanced Usage
- The idiom is often used in a dismissive or critical tone to express impatience with someone's verbose or petty communication.
- It functions as a verb phrase in a sentence, typically following a subject.
Variants and Related Words
- Cà kê (v): This is the shortened, more colloquial form with the same meaning: to chatter on about trivialities.
- Anh ta cà kê mãi về chuyện cũ. (He chattered on and on about old stories.)
Synonyms
- To ramble: To talk at length in a confused or inconsequential way.
- To nitpick: To engage in fussy, petty criticism.
- To beat around the bush: To avoid coming to the point.
- To haggle over trifles: To argue stubbornly about minor details.
Related Idioms
- Dài dòng văn tự: To be long-winded, verbose (more formal than "con cà con kê").
- Vòng vo tam quốc: To talk in a roundabout way, to circumvent the main issue (similar in meaning but with a stronger sense of deliberate evasion).
- Xem cà kê