Definition

1. Noun:

   • Carpenter's Square / Try Square: A measuring and marking tool used primarily in woodworking and metalworking. It consists of two arms (a blade and a stock) fixed at a precise 90-degree (right) angle to each other. It is used for checking squareness, marking perpendicular lines, and guiding saw cuts.

2. Adjective (in figurative/colloquial use):

   • Perfectly square / At a right angle: Used to describe something that is exactly perpendicular or forms a precise 90-degree angle.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh thợ mộc dùng thước thợ để kiểm tra xem góc khung cửa có vuông không. (The carpenter used a carpenter's square to check if the door frame corner was square.)
  • Hãy vẽ một đường thẳng thước thợ với cạnh bàn. (Draw a line perfectly square to the edge of the table.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used metaphorically to imply correctness, precision, or adherence to a standard, much like "by the book" or "to the letter" in English, though this is less common.
  • Công việc phải làm cho thước thợ. (The work must be done precisely/to the letter.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thước nách (n): A synonym for , also meaning a carpenter's square.
• Thước góc (n): Angle ruler or protractor (a tool for measuring angles, not necessarily 90 degrees).
• Ê-ke (n): A set square or triangle (a drafting tool, often a right-angled triangle).

Synonyms

• Try square
• Carpenter's square
• Steel square (if made of metal)
• Right angle

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Vuông như thước thợ: As square as a carpenter's square; meaning perfectly square or upright.
  • Căn phòng này được xây vuông như thước thợ. (This room was built perfectly square.)