ba que xỏ lá

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

Etymology

ba que (literally “three sticks”) +‎ xỏ lá (literally “to pierce through the leaf”), i.e. “piercing through a leaf with three sticks”. Said to have taken its origin from a trick game during the French colonial period. The second sense is in reference to the flag of South Vietnam, which features three red stripes on a yellow background.

Pronunciation

  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ kwɛ˧˧ sɔ˧˩ laː˧˦]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ kwɛ˧˧ sɔ˧˨ laː˨˩˦]
  • (Saigon) IPA(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ wɛ˧˧ sɔ˨˩˦ laː˦˥]

Idiom

ba que xỏ lá

  1. (figurative) cheating and caddish; wicked and malicious; deceitful; roguish
  2. (figurative, derogatory) Relating to the former Republic of Vietnam.
    tàn quân ba que xỏ lá ― soldiers of the three-sticks-through-leaf (South Vietnam soldiers)
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