gầm ghè
Definition
- Verb:
- To square up to someone / To have one's hackles up: To adopt a hostile, threatening posture and attitude, showing readiness to fight or argue. It describes the tense, aggressive stance taken by someone (or sometimes an animal) who is provoked and prepared for a physical or verbal confrontation.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Hai đứa trẻ gầm ghè nhau vì một món đồ chơi. (The two children squared up to each other over a toy.)
- Nghe thấy tiếng động lạ, con chó gầm ghè đầy cảnh giác. (Hearing a strange noise, the dog had its hackles up, fully alert.)
- Anh ta gầm ghè với đối thủ ngay trước trận đấu. (He squared up to his opponent right before the match.)
Advanced Usage
- The word vividly conveys not just anger, but a display of that anger through body language (e.g., glaring, puffing out one's chest, adopting a fighting stance). It often implies a mutual, face-to-face standoff.
Synonyms
- To glower: To stare with sullen anger or hostility.
- To bristle: To react with anger or indignation (like an animal's fur standing on end).
- To posture aggressively: To assume a threatening stance.
Related Idioms
- Gầm ghè như hổ đói: To square up fiercely like a starving tiger. This idiom intensifies the meaning, comparing the person's threatening demeanor to a wild, dangerous animal.
- Bị dồn vào đường cùng, hắn gầm ghè như hổ đói. (Cornered, he squared up fiercely like a starving tiger.)
verb
-
to square up to, to have one's hackles up
