vặn vẹo
Definition
Verb:
- To twist; to wriggle; to contort: To move the body or a part of the body with repeated twisting or turning motions, often to express discomfort, impatience, or to get into a different position.
- To be winding; to be sinuous; to be tortuous: Describing a path, road, or line that has many bends and turns.
Adjective:
- Twisted; crooked; not straight: Describing something that has a bent, coiled, or irregular shape.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Đứa bé vặn vẹo trên ghế vì buồn chán. (The child wriggled in the chair out of boredom.)
- Con đường vào làng vặn vẹo qua những quả đồi. (The road into the village winds through the hills.)
- Adjective:
- Cái cây có thân vặn vẹo trông rất cổ quái. (The tree has a twisted trunk that looks very strange.)
Advanced Usage
- "vặn vẹo chữ nghĩa": To twist the meaning of words; to engage in sophistry or nitpicking over semantics.
- Đừng vặn vẹo chữ nghĩa nữa, hãy đi vào vấn đề chính. (Stop twisting words and get to the main point.)
Variants and Related Words
- Vặn (v): To twist (e.g., a cap, a knob); to wring.
- Ngoằn ngoèo (adj): Zigzagging, very winding (often for paths or lines).
Synonyms
- To wriggle: To twist and turn the body.
- To wind: To follow a curving or twisting course.
- Crooked: Not straight; bent or twisted.
Related Idioms
- Vặn vẹo như đỉa phải vôi: To wriggle intensely (like a leech in lime); to squirm uncomfortably, often under pressure or criticism.
- Bị chất vấn, anh ta vặn vẹo như đỉa phải vôi. (When questioned, he squirmed like a leech in lime.)