ba que xỏ lá

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

xỏ lá ba que

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

(figurative) cheating and caddish; wicked and malicious; deceitful; roguish
(figurative, derogatory) Relating to the former Republic of Vietnam.