cá sẩy cá lớn
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
The escaped fish is always the big one — what got away grows in the telling.
Literally: the slipped fish is a large fish
Examples
Kể lại vụ trượt cổ phiếu, cá sẩy cá lớn mà.Retelling the stock he missed — the escaped fish is always huge.
Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)
Sources & notes
Discovered via Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.
Common questions
What does “cá sẩy cá lớn” mean?
The escaped fish is always the big one — what got away grows in the telling. Literally: the slipped fish is a large fish
Is “cá sẩy cá lớn” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.