một con ngựa đau, cả tầu chê cỏ
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
One horse falls ill and the whole stable refuses grass — fellowship grieving as one body.
Literally: one horse ailing, the entire stable declines fodder
Examples
Một con ngựa đau, cả tàu bỏ cỏ.One horse sick, the whole stable off its feed.
Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)
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 is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.
Common questions
What does “một con ngựa đau, cả tầu chê cỏ” mean?
One horse falls ill and the whole stable refuses grass — fellowship grieving as one body. Literally: one horse ailing, the entire stable declines fodder
Is “một con ngựa đau, cả tầu chê cỏ” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.