nửa nạc nửa mỡ

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [nɨə˧˩ naːk̚˧˨ʔ nɨə˧˩ məː˦ˀ˥]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [nɨə˧˨ naːk̚˨˩ʔ nɨə˧˨ məː˧˨]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [nɨə˨˩˦ naːk̚˨˩˨ nɨə˨˩˦ məː˨˩˦]

Noun

nửa nạc nửa mỡ

1. (literal) half meat, half fat
2. (figurative, dergogatory) an unsightly middle ground, something that's not quite one thing but not exactly the other either, resulting from half-assing

   Làm thì làm cho đến nơi đến chốn, đừng có để nửa nạc nửa mỡ như thế !

   If you're gonna do something, put good effort into it, don't just half-ass it!