Definition

1. Noun:
   • A club-shaped mallet: A tool, typically made of wood, with a thick, heavy head and a handle, used for striking or pounding, especially in carpentry or woodworking.
   • A crude or rough tool/object: By extension, it can refer to something that is unrefined, coarse, or rudimentary.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh thợ mộc dùng dùi đục để đóng chốt. (The carpenter used a club-shaped mallet to drive the peg.)
  • Cái bàn này làm ra trông như dùng dùi đục mà đẽo vậy. (This table looks like it was carved with a crude mallet [i.e., very roughly].)

Advanced Usage

• "dùi đục chấm mắm cáy": A Vietnamese idiom literally meaning "a crude mallet dipped in (a type of fermented crab sauce)". It is used to describe a person who is uncouth, unrefined, or boorish in manners or speech.
  • Anh ta nói chuyện thô lỗ, đúng là dùi đục chấm mắm cáy. (He speaks rudely; he's truly a crude mallet dipped in crab sauce.)

Variants and Related Words

• Búa (n): Hammer. A more general term for a hammer.
• Vồ (n): Sledgehammer. A large, heavy hammer.
• Chày (n): Pestle. A tool for pounding in a mortar.

Synonyms

• Búa gỗ (n): Wooden mallet.
• Dụng cụ thô sơ (n): Crude tool.

Related Idioms

• "dùi đục chấm mắm cáy": As explained above, an idiom for an uncultured, coarse person.
  • Cử chỉ của hắn chẳng khác nào dùi đục chấm mắm cáy. (His manners are no different from a crude mallet dipped in crab sauce.)

1. Club-shaped mallet