thả con săn-sắt bắt con sộp
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Release the minnow to catch the snakehead — small bait surrendered for the bigger fish.
Literally: free the săn-sắt to seize the sộp
Examples
Thả con săn sắt bắt con cá sộp.Let the minnow go to land the snakehead.
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 “thả con săn-sắt bắt con sộp” mean?
Release the minnow to catch the snakehead — small bait surrendered for the bigger fish. Literally: free the săn-sắt to seize the sộp
Is “thả con săn-sắt bắt con sộp” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.