hết nạc thì vạc đến xương
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
When resources are depleted, one must use whatever is left
Khi tài nguyên cạn kiệt, phải dùng bất cứ thứ gì còn lại
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Examples
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.