quay quoắt

Một người đàn ông quay quoắt đang thì thầm toan tính với đồng bọn trong góc tối.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Deceitful; Sly; Crafty: Describes a person who is cunning, untrustworthy, and habitually uses trickery or dishonesty to achieve their aims. It implies a twisting, coiling nature of character.
   • Underhanded; Wily: Refers to behavior or schemes that are sneaky, manipulative, and difficult to pin down due to their deceptive complexity.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ta là một kẻ quay quoắt, không ai có thể tin tưởng được. (He is a deceitful person; no one can trust him.)
  • Đừng nghe những lời đường mật và những mưu đồ quay quoắt của hắn. (Do not listen to his honeyed words and underhanded schemes.)
  • Bản chất quay quoắt của tên lừa đảo đã sớm bị phát hiện. (The crafty nature of the swindler was soon discovered.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in literary or formal contexts to describe a deeply ingrained, morally corrupt cunning. It carries a strong negative connotation, stronger than simply "clever" or "smart."

Variants and Related Words

• Quay quắt (adj): While sometimes used interchangeably in speech, "quay quắt" more strongly emphasizes a sense of being twisted in pain or desperation (e.g., - writhing in pain), though it can also imply extreme cunning.
• Xảo quyệt (adj): Cunning, crafty. A close synonym often used in similar contexts.

Synonyms

• Deceitful: Guilty of or involving deceit.
• Sly: Having or showing a cunning and deceitful nature.
• Crafty: Clever at achieving one's aims by indirect or deceitful methods.
• Underhanded: Acting or done in a secret or dishonest way.
• Wily: Skilled at gaining an advantage, especially deceitfully.

Related Idioms

• While "quay quoắt" itself is not commonly part of a fixed idiom, it describes the central trait in phrases like:
  • Thủ đoạn quay quoắt: Underhanded/Deceitful tactics.
  • Con người quay quoắt: A deceitful/crafty person.