tấn thối lưỡng nan
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Hard forward, hard back — wedged where neither advance nor retreat will serve.
Literally: advance and retreat both difficult
Examples
Kẹt giữa hai bên, tấn thối lưỡng nan.Caught between both sides — no way forward, none back.
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 “tấn thối lưỡng nan” mean?
Hard forward, hard back — wedged where neither advance nor retreat will serve. Literally: advance and retreat both difficult
Is “tấn thối lưỡng nan” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.