Definition

1. Idiom:
   • A thief meets an old lady: A Vietnamese idiom describing a situation where two cunning, shrewd, or deceitful individuals encounter each other. It implies that their schemes, tricks, or cleverness are matched, often leading to a stalemate or a situation where one's trickery is countered by the other's equal or greater experience in deceit.

Usage Examples

• Idiom:
  • Hai công ty đó cạnh tranh nhau bằng mánh khóe, đúng là kẻ cắp gặp bà già. (Those two companies compete using underhanded tricks; it's truly a case of a thief meeting an old lady.)
  • Tên lừa đảo cuối cùng cũng bị một tay cờ bạc bịp lừa lại, kẻ cắp gặp bà già thật. (The scammer was finally swindled by a cheating gambler; it's a real case of a thief meeting an old lady.)

Advanced Usage

• This idiom is often used to comment on a situation where two parties, both known for being untrustworthy, manipulative, or exceptionally clever in a negative way, are pitted against each other. The outcome is often that their respective plans are foiled by the other's similar nature.

Variants and Related Words

• Kẻ cắp (n): thief, robber.
  • Kẻ cắp đã bị cảnh sát bắt. (The thief was caught by the police.)
• Bà già (n): old lady. In this idiom, it does not simply mean an elderly woman but symbolizes a person who is very experienced, shrewd, and not easily fooled, often in the context of street smarts or deceit.

Synonyms

• It takes one to know one: A proverb suggesting one recognizes faults in others because they possess those faults themselves.
• A poacher turned gamekeeper: Someone who now prevents the crime they used to commit (shares the theme of matched cunning from opposite sides).
• Diamond cut diamond: A situation where two equally sharp or cunning parties are in conflict.

Related Idioms

• Cáo mượn oai hùm: A fox borrowing the tiger's fierceness (to bully others); meaning to use someone else's power to intimidate.
• Trâu bò húc nhau, ruồi muỗi chết: When buffaloes fight, flies and mosquitoes die (i.e., the little people suffer when the powerful clash).