vặt mũi không đủ đút miệng
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Plucking from the nose can't fill the mouth — income structurally short of appetite.
Literally: picking the nose won't feed the mouth
Examples
Lương ba cọc, vặt mũi không đủ đút miệng.On that wage, the nose can't feed the mouth.
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 “vặt mũi không đủ đút miệng” mean?
Plucking from the nose can't fill the mouth — income structurally short of appetite. Literally: picking the nose won't feed the mouth
Is “vặt mũi không đủ đút miệng” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.