tắt mắt
Definition
- Verb (colloquial):
- To pilfer, to filch, to pinch: Refers to the act of stealing small, often insignificant items, frequently out of habit or petty impulse rather than for major gain. It implies a sneaky, furtive action.
- To have sticky fingers: Describes a person's habitual tendency to steal small things.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Thằng bé hay tắt mắt. (That boy often pilfers things / has sticky fingers.)
- Đồng hồ của tôi bị ai đó tắt mắt rồi. (My watch was pinched by someone.)
- Cô ấy bị nghi ngờ tắt mắt đồ trong siêu thị. (She is suspected of filching items in the supermarket.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is almost exclusively used in informal, spoken contexts to describe petty theft. It carries a connotation of annoyance and moral disapproval towards a recurring, sneaky behavior rather than a one-time serious crime.
Variants and Related Words
- Ăn cắp vặt (v): to steal petty items. This is a near-synonymous phrase.
- Nó có tật ăn cắp vặt. (He has a habit of petty theft.)
Synonyms
- To pilfer: To steal things of little value.
- To filch: To steal something, especially something of little value, in a casual way.
- To pinch (slang): To steal.
- To snitch (slang): To steal.
Related Idioms
- Có tật tắt mắt: To have a habit of pilfering; to be light-fingered.
- Đứa trẻ đó có tật tắt mắt. (That child is light-fingered.)