hết nạc thì vạc đến xương
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
When resources are depleted, one must use whatever is left
Literally: when the lean meat is finished, the pot comes to the bones
Examples
Gia đình tôi đã hết tiền nên hết nạc thì vạc đến xương, phải bán cả nhà để trả nợMy family has run out of money, so we have to sell our house to pay off debts
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Discovered via Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “hết nạc thì vạc đến xương” mean?
When resources are depleted, one must use whatever is left Literally: when the lean meat is finished, the pot comes to the bones
Is “hết nạc thì vạc đến xương” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.