ba que xỏ lá

== Vietnamese == === Alternative forms === xỏ lá ba que === Etymology === ba que (literally “three sticks”) +‎ xỏ lá (literally “to pierce through the leaf”), i.e. “piercing through a leaf with three sticks”. Said to have taken its origin from a trick game during the French colonial period. The second sense is in reference to the flag of South Vietnam, which features three red stripes on a yellow background. === Pronunciation === (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ kwɛ˧˧ sɔ˧˩ laː˧˦] (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ kwɛ˧˧ sɔ˧˨ laː˨˩˦] (Saigon) IPA(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ wɛ˧˧ sɔ˨˩˦ laː˦˥] === Idiom === ba que xỏ lá (figurative) cheating and caddish; wicked and malicious; deceitful; roguish (figurative, derogatory) Relating to the former Republic of Vietnam. tàn quân ba que xỏ lá ― soldiers of the three-sticks-through-leaf (South Vietnam soldiers)