ăn gỏi
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To eat raw fish salad (gỏi): The primary meaning refers to the act of consuming "gỏi," a traditional Vietnamese dish typically made with raw or cured seafood (like fish or shrimp), mixed with herbs, vegetables, and a seasoned dressing.
- To squander money recklessly: A colloquial and metaphorical meaning, implying spending one's wealth wastefully and rapidly, as if it were as easily consumed as a light salad.
Usage Examples
Literal meaning:
- Ở Đà Nẵng, chúng tôi thích ăn gỏi cá trích. (In Da Nang, we like to eat herring salad.)
- Gỏi tôm thịt là món anh ấy muốn ăn. (Shrimp and pork salad is the dish he wants to eat.)
Metaphorical meaning:
- Cậu ta thừa kế gia tài rồi ăn gỏi hết trong một năm. (He inherited a fortune and squandered it all within a year.)
- Tiền tiết kiệm đừng mang đi ăn gỏi. (Don't go and fritter away your savings.)
Advanced Usage
- The metaphorical usage is often critical, describing irresponsible financial behavior. It carries a nuance of speed and ease, comparing the dissipation of money to the quick, light act of eating a salad.
Variants and Related Words
- Gỏi (n): A Vietnamese salad. The type is often specified, e.g., (chicken salad), (green papaya salad). Note: Not all contain raw fish; the term broadly covers various salads.
- Ăn phá (v): To consume destructively; to squander. A related concept for wasteful spending.
Synonyms
- To eat raw fish salad: To consume .
- To squander: To waste (money, resources) extravagantly.
- To fritter away: To spend money on trivial things, gradually wasting it.
- To dissipate (a fortune): To scatter or waste wealth, especially through reckless living.
Related Idioms
- Ăn tiêu như phá: To spend money as if destroying it; to spend recklessly. This idiom shares a similar meaning to the metaphorical use of .
- Vung tay quá trán: To spend beyond one's means; literally "to throw one's hand over one's forehead."