Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Cleared out, having lost everything: Describes a state of having lost all of one's possessions, money, or resources, typically as a result of a venture, gamble, or misfortune.
   • Penniless, without a penny: Emphasizes the resulting condition of having no money left at all.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Sau vụ đầu tư thất bại, ông ấy trắng tay. (After the failed investment, he was left penniless.)
  • Cô ấy chơi cờ bạc và ra về trắng tay. (She gambled and went home having lost everything.)
  • Cơn bão khiến nhiều ngư dân trắng tay. (The storm left many fishermen with nothing.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is often used to describe a complete and total loss, not necessarily permanent poverty, but a sudden state of having nothing left from a specific endeavor or event.
• It can be used metaphorically beyond financial contexts to mean achieving no result or gain from an effort.
  • Cả đội làm việc chăm chỉ nhưng cuối cùng vẫn trắng tay. (The whole team worked hard but ended up with nothing to show for it.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tay trắng (adj): Starting with nothing, having no capital or resources at the outset.
  • Anh ấy bắt đầu sự nghiệp bằng tay trắng. (He started his career with nothing.)

Synonyms

• Penniless: Having no money.
• Broke: Informal term for having no money.
• Wiped out: Having lost all one's money or resources.
• Cleaned out: Having been stripped of all money or possessions.

Related Idioms

• Trắng tay ra về: To go home empty-handed.
  • Cuộc đàm phán thất bại, họ trắng tay ra về. (The negotiation failed, and they went home empty-handed.)
• Được ăn cả, ngã về không: A related Vietnamese idiom meaning "win big or lose everything," often associated with the risky behavior that can lead to being .

adj

1. cleared out, without a penny, penniless