mèo thấy mỡ
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
The cat that saw the lard — craving with its whiskers already in the dish.
Literally: cat sees the fat
Examples
Nó nhìn chiếc xe như mèo thấy mỡ.He eyed that motorbike like a cat eyeing lard.
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 “mèo thấy mỡ” mean?
The cat that saw the lard — craving with its whiskers already in the dish. Literally: cat sees the fat
Is “mèo thấy mỡ” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.