Definition

1. 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).

1. Xem cà kê