nói vuốt đuôi
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To feign consolation or give insincere comfort: The phrase describes the act of pretending to comfort or console someone who has experienced an unfortunate event, often in a superficial, dismissive, or even subtly mocking manner. The comfort is not genuine and may be offered merely for form's sake or to minimize the other person's distress.
Usage Examples
- Verb phrase:
- Đừng có nói vuốt đuôi tôi! Tôi biết anh không thực sự quan tâm đâu. (Don't give me that insincere comfort! I know you don't really care.)
- Cô ấy chỉ nói vuốt đuôi vài câu rồi bỏ đi, chẳng giúp được gì. (She just muttered a few words of feigned consolation and then left, not helping at all.)
- Sau khi tôi mất việc, vài đồng nghiệp đến nói vuốt đuôi cho xong chuyện. (After I lost my job, a few colleagues came to offer hollow comfort just to get it over with.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase often carries a critical or negative connotation, implying hypocrisy, indifference, or a lack of genuine empathy from the person offering the "comfort."
- It can be used to call out someone's disingenuous behavior directly, as in the first example sentence.
Variants and Related Words
- An ủi (giả tạo) (v): to console (insincerely).
- Vuốt đuôi: This component literally means "to stroke the tail." In the idiom, it metaphorically represents a superficial, patting gesture that does not address the real problem or pain.
Synonyms
- To pay lip service: to express support or sympathy insincerely.
- To give hollow comfort: to offer consolation that is empty and meaningless.
- To patronize: to treat with an apparent kindness that betrays a feeling of superiority.
Related Idioms
- Nói cho có lệ: to say something just for the sake of formality or appearances.
- Lời chia buồn của họ nghe như nói cho có lệ. (Their condolences sounded like they were just said for formality.)
- Vỗ về an ủi: to soothe and console (can be genuine or perceived as patronizing depending on context).