Definition

1. Noun:
   • Sticks and canes; cudgels: A collective term referring to sticks, clubs, or canes, typically used as simple weapons or tools for hitting or support. It implies a sense of crude, makeshift weaponry or tools gathered for a purpose, often for fighting or intimidation.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Đám người đó cầm gậy gộc để đe dọa. (That group of people held sticks and clubs to intimidate.)
  • Họ nhặt gậy gộc trong rừng để tự vệ. (They picked up sticks and cudgels in the forest for self-defense.)
  • Cuộc ẩu đả chỉ có gậy gộc chứ không có súng. (The brawl involved only sticks and clubs, not guns.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "gậy gộc" often carries a connotation of improvised, rudimentary, or traditional weaponry, as opposed to modern arms. It can be used metaphorically to describe basic, forceful methods.
  • Họ chỉ có thể dùng những biện pháp gậy gộc. (They could only use crude, forceful measures.)

Variants and Related Words

• Gậy (n): A stick, cane, or rod. This is the singular and more general term.

  • Ông cụ chống gậy. (The old man uses a walking cane.)

• Gộc (n): A short, thick stick or club; a cudgel. This word is less common alone and is usually paired with "gậy".

  • Hắn cầm một khúc gộc. (He held a short, thick club.)

Synonyms

• Cudgels: Short, thick sticks used as weapons.
• Clubs: Heavy sticks used for hitting.
• Staves: long sticks, especially used for walking or as weapons.

Related Idioms

• Múa gậy gộc: Literally "to brandish sticks and clubs"; to act in a threatening or aggressively showy manner, often without real substance.
  • Anh ta chỉ biết múa gậy gộc chứ không có kế hoạch thực tế. (He only knows how to brandish threats but has no practical plan.)

1. Sticks and canes