Definition

1. Verb:
   • To drag on; to drag out: To allow a situation, task, or matter to continue for an unnecessarily or annoyingly long time without resolution.
   • To be involved in; to get entangled in: To become involved in a complicated, troublesome, or messy situation, often reluctantly.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Đừng để công việc này dây dưa thêm nữa. (Don't let this work drag on any longer.)
  • Vụ kiện đó đã dây dưa nhiều năm. (That lawsuit has dragged on for many years.)
  • Tôi không muốn dây dưa với họ. (I don't want to get entangled with them.)

Advanced Usage

• The word often carries a negative connotation, implying procrastination, inefficiency, or unwanted complication.
• It can describe both the prolongation of an action and the state of being involved in a problematic relationship or affair.

Variants and Related Words

• Dây dưa lôi thôi (idiomatic phrase): To be long-drawn-out and troublesome.
  • Mọi chuyện dây dưa lôi thôi khiến anh ấy mệt mỏi. (Everything was drawn-out and troublesome, which made him tired.)

Synonyms

• To procrastinate: To delay or postpone action.
• To linger: To remain in existence longer than necessary.
• To be entangled: To become involved in a complicated situation.

Related Idioms

• Dây dưa khó dứt: Literally "entangled and hard to break free"; describes a situation or relationship that is complicated and difficult to end.
  • Mối quan hệ dây dưa khó dứt của họ là chuyện của công chúng. (Their entangled, hard-to-end relationship is public news.)

verb

1. to drag on; to drag out
   • để công việc dây dưa
     to drag out one's work