đánh bùn sang ao
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Bailing mud from one pond to the other — busywork that changes nothing.
Literally: shift mud across to the pond
Examples
Cải tổ kiểu ấy chỉ là đánh bùn sang ao.That kind of reshuffle is just bailing mud between ponds.
Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)
Sources & notes
Discovered via Vietnamese Wiktionary, Thể loại:Thành ngữ tiếng Việt (CC BY-SA 4.0); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.
Common questions
What does “đánh bùn sang ao” mean?
Bailing mud from one pond to the other — busywork that changes nothing. Literally: shift mud across to the pond
Is “đánh bùn sang ao” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.