buôn dưa lê

Vietnamese

Etymology

buôn +‎ dưa lê, literally “to wholesale honeydew melons”. Alternatively, buôn +‎ dưa +‎ lê (“to wholesale melons and pears”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓuən˧˧ zɨə˧˧ le˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓuəŋ˧˧ jɨə˧˧ lej˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɓuəŋ˧˧ jɨə˧˧ lej˧˧]

Verb

buôn dưa lê

1. (figurative, idiomatic, colloquial) to shoot the breeze; to chew the fat; to gossip