thớt trên mòn, thớt dưới cũng mòn

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

The top millstone wears, and so does the bottom — in every grinding lawsuit, both stones lose face.

Literally: upper stone wears, lower stone wears too

Examples

Kiện nhau chỉ tốn cả đôi bên, thớt trên mòn thớt dưới cũng mòn.Sue each other and both grindstones wear — the suit mills both parties.

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 “thớt trên mòn, thớt dưới cũng mòn” mean?

The top millstone wears, and so does the bottom — in every grinding lawsuit, both stones lose face. Literally: upper stone wears, lower stone wears too

Is “thớt trên mòn, thớt dưới cũng mòn” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.