lành chanh lành chói
Definition
- Adjective:
- Excessively and flashily neat or clean: Describes something, typically clothing or appearance, that is overly neat, tidy, or clean in a way that is conspicuous, showy, or even gaudy. It often carries a negative connotation of being ostentatious or trying too hard to look pristine.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Cậu ấy ăn mặc lành chanh lành chói quá, trông không tự nhiên. (He dresses in an excessively flashy, neat way; it doesn't look natural.)
- Căn phòng được dọn dẹp lành chanh lành chói, mất hết vẻ ấm cúng. (The room was cleaned to an ostentatiously spotless state, losing all its coziness.)
Advanced Usage
- This is a reduplicative form of the adjective "lành chanh", which itself means neat or clean in a somewhat showy manner. The reduplication "lành chanh lành chói" intensifies the meaning, adding a sense of being glaringly or dazzlingly (hence ) neat.
Variants and Related Words
- Lành chanh (adj): Neat, clean, and tidy in a conspicuous or somewhat pretentious way.
- Bộ vest mới khiến anh ta trông lành chanh lắm. (The new suit makes him look overly neat.)
Synonyms
- Ostentatiously neat: Clean or tidy in a showy way to attract attention.
- Flashily clean: Clean to the point of being gaudy or overdone.
- Prim and proper (in a showy way): Excessively concerned with formal neatness.
Related Idioms
- While not a direct idiom, the expression often functions similarly to the English concept of "spick-and-span" but with a critical, negative twist, implying it is "too spick-and-span".