Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Slippery and sliding: Describes a surface or condition that is very slick, causing things to lose grip and slide uncontrollably.
   • Loose and not adhering: Describes something that fails to stick, attach, or hold properly, often resulting in it slipping off or away.

2. Verb (descriptive state):

   • To slip and slide: To be in a state of sliding or skidding due to a lack of friction or grip.
   • To fail to catch on / to come to nothing: Figuratively describes an effort, plan, or attempt that fails to gain traction or succeed, ultimately slipping away.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Đường bị đóng băng trợt lớt. (The icy road was slippery and sliding.)
  • Miếng ván ốp tường bị trợt lớt, không dính vào. (The wall panel was loose and not adhering properly.)

• Verb (descriptive state):

  • Xe của tôi trợt lớt trên đường đất ướt. (My car slipped and slid on the wet dirt road.)
  • Kế hoạch kinh doanh của họ trợt lớt mãi không thành. (Their business plan kept failing to catch on and never succeeded.)

Advanced Usage

• This word is often used in a figurative sense to describe social or conversational situations that are awkward, where one fails to connect or engage.
  • Cuộc nói chuyện cứ trợt lớt, không có điểm chung. (The conversation just kept slipping away, with no common ground.)

Variants and Related Words

• Trượt (v): to slide, to slip. This is the standard, more common verb.

  • Cậu bé trượt trên sàn nhà. (The boy slid on the floor.)

• Tuột (v): to slip off, to come loose.

  • Sợi dây tuột khỏi tay cô ấy. (The rope slipped from her hand.)

Synonyms

• Slippery: (of a surface) causing something to slide easily.
• Unstable: not firmly fixed and likely to give way.
• To fizzle out: (figurative) to end weakly or fail after a promising start.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Trợt lớt như cá trê: To be as slippery as a catfish. Emphasizes extreme slipperiness or elusiveness.

  • Tên tội phạm đó trợt lớt như cá trê, cảnh sát không thể bắt được. (That criminal was as slippery as a catfish; the police couldn't catch him.)

• Để trôi đi trợt lớt: To let something slide away or go to waste.

  • Anh ta để cơ hội vàng trôi đi trợt lớt. (He let the golden opportunity slip away.)