xớt
Definition
Verb:
- To graze; to brush past; to narrowly miss: Describes something moving very close to a surface or object without making solid contact, often implying a near miss.
- To snatch quickly; to seize in flight: Refers to the act of grabbing or taking something swiftly, often in a single, rapid motion, as a bird of prey might.
Adjective:
- Cloyingly sweet; sickly sweet; saccharine: Describes an excessive, often unpleasant sweetness in taste or, figuratively, in manner or speech. This meaning is primarily used in the reduplicated form "ngọt xớt" or "xớt xợt".
Usage Examples
- Verb (to graze/brush past):
- Viên đạn xớt qua đầu anh ta. (The bullet grazed past his head.)
- Verb (to snatch quickly):
- Con diều hâu xớt con gà con. (The hawk snatched the chick.)
- Adjective (cloyingly sweet):
- Cốt truyện phim ấy ngọt xớt. (The plot of that film is cloyingly sweet.)
Advanced Usage
- The verb "xớt" is not commonly used in modern, everyday Vietnamese on its own. Its core meanings are more frequently encountered in specific, often literary or descriptive contexts, or within compound/idiomatic forms.
- The adjectival sense is almost exclusively used in the combined form "ngọt xớt" or the reduplicated form "xớt xợt" to emphasize an overdone, artificial, or nauseating quality of sweetness or sentimentality.
Variants and Related Words
- Ngọt xớt (adj): Cloyingly sweet, mawkish.
- Lời nói ngọt xớt. (Cloyingly sweet words.)
- Xớt xợt (adj): An intensified form of "xớt," meaning excessively and unpleasantly sweet or sentimental.
- Món ăn có vị xớt xợt. (The dish has a sickly sweet taste.)
Synonyms
- To graze: To touch lightly in passing.
- To snatch: To seize quickly or eagerly.
- Cloying: Excessively sweet, rich, or sentimental to the point of disgust.
Related Idioms
- While "xớt" itself is not typically the head of common idioms, it is a key component in the descriptive phrase "ngọt xớt", which functions idiomatically to criticize excessive sweetness or flattery.