Vừa sờ tai đã mất cổ, vừa ngoái cổ đã nổ hầu
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
To hesitate or be indecisive, leading to missed opportunities
Examples
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Headword listed in the vdict.com proverb dictionary index (discovery source; headword only — no source content copied). Entered as candidate 2026-08-05; definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-08; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “Vừa sờ tai đã mất cổ, vừa ngoái cổ đã nổ hầu” mean?
To hesitate or be indecisive, leading to missed opportunities Literally: Touching the ear and losing the neck, turning the neck and bursting the throat
Is “Vừa sờ tai đã mất cổ, vừa ngoái cổ đã nổ hầu” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.