Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To sharpen a saw: The literal meaning refers to the action of filing or sharpening the teeth of a saw to make it sharp again.
   • To dawdle, to procrastinate, to waste time on preparatory tasks instead of doing the main work: A figurative and idiomatic meaning, derived from the literal action, used to criticize someone for spending excessive time on minor, preparatory tasks (like sharpening tools) while delaying or avoiding the actual, productive work.

Usage Examples

• Literal meaning (less common in modern usage):
  • Anh ấy đang rửa cưa ở ngoài xưởng. (He is sharpening a saw in the workshop.)
• Figurative/Idiomatic meaning (common):
  • Đừng có rửa cưa nữa, bắt tay vào việc chính đi! (Stop dawdling/procrastinating and get to the main task!)
  • Cả ngày nó chỉ biết sớm rửa cưa trưa mài đục, việc chẳng thấy đâu. (All day he just dawdles, the actual work is nowhere to be seen.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is most famously and almost exclusively used in the Vietnamese proverb "Sớm rửa cưa trưa mài đục".
  • Meaning: This proverb vividly describes the behavior of someone who spends the whole morning "sharpening a saw" and the whole afternoon "sharpening a chisel," thereby wasting the entire day on tool maintenance without ever starting the real carpentry or construction work. It is a strong criticism of procrastination, inefficiency, and avoiding substantive labor by busying oneself with peripheral activities.
  • Example: Hắn ta làm việc kiểu sớm rửa cưa trưa mài đục, cả tháng rồi dự án vẫn chưa xong. (He works in a 'sharpening-saws-all-morning' fashion; the project still isn't finished after a whole month.)

Variants and Related Words

• Mài đục (verb phrase): To sharpen a chisel. Used together with "rửa cưa" in the proverb to reinforce the meaning of wasting time on preparations.
• Dềnh dang (adjective): Dawdling, dilly-dallying, slow and inefficient. This is often used in dictionary definitions to explain the figurative sense of "rửa cưa".
• Lần khân (verb): To procrastinate, to delay.
• Chần chừ (verb): To hesitate, to dawdle.

Synonyms (for the figurative meaning)

• Trì hoãn: To delay, to postpone.
• Lãng phí thời gian: To waste time.
• Làm việc cầm chừng: To work perfunctorily, to just go through the motions.

Related Idioms

• "Sớm rửa cưa trưa mài đục": As explained above, this is the core idiom containing the target phrase. It is a fixed expression.
  • English equivalent suggestions: "To fiddle while Rome burns," "to drag one's feet," "to be all talk and no action," though none capture the precise cultural image of tool-sharpening. A descriptive translation is "to dawdle in one's job" or "to spend all day sharpening tools instead of working."

Notes on Usage

• Register: The phrase, especially in its proverbial form, is considered folk wisdom and is somewhat literary or proverbial. It can be used in both spoken and written language to offer pointed criticism.
• Frequency: The standalone phrase "rửa cưa" is rarely used in modern daily conversation outside of referencing or alluding to the full proverb. Its meaning is almost entirely carried by the idiom "Sớm rửa cưa trưa mài đục".

1. Set a draw
   • Sớm rửa cưa trưa mài đục (tục ngữ)
     To dawdle in one's job