What does "Cù bất cù bơ" mean?

"Rolling" is a compound word with the same meaning, referring to something rolling back and forth, jumping up, or crawling across many positions...

So, to ask further, why did "cù" (rolling) intrude, "separating the lovers" from "lăn lóc" (rolling) to become "cù lăn cù lóc" (rolling and rolling)? The reason is that "cù" most clearly reflects the actions of rolling and rolling, because first and foremost, the object must be round. In other words, "cù" comes from the Sino-Vietnamese word "cầu" (bridge), referring to a round object.

In the vocabulary of people in Southern Vietnam, there is the word "hòn cù" or "trái cù". It is used in games like "đánh cù" and "cù khang", expressed in the phrase "rolling like a cù fruit". According to the "Đại Nam quấc âm tự vị" (1895), "A round fruit used for playing the 'trống' game." This explanation is difficult to understand because of the word "trống" or "đánh trống". Therefore, this dictionary states: "Playing the 'trống' game: In the 'trái cù' game, two people hold two pieces of wood and hit the 'cù' back and forth to gain ground; the stronger person or the one who knows how to hit the 'cù' further away gains more ground."

So, when the word "bù" is inserted to become "bù lăn bù lóc," what does "bù" mean? Surprisingly, in this context, "bù" is also "cù" or "cù lăn cù lóc." Equally unique is the expression "cầu bơ cầu bất/cầu bất cầu bơ," which is essentially "cù bơ cù bất/cù bất cù bơ ." For example, the poet Tố Hữu wrote:

"I have been the child of countless families."

You are the sibling of countless lifetimes of decay.

He is the older brother of thousands of little children.

"Without clothes or food , utterly destitute..."

As the character in Vũ Trọng Phụng's story recounts: "I was born under an unlucky star. While other children were pampered, cherished, and carried by their parents, I was a child alone who had to endure many hardships" - perhaps that included wandering aimlessly, homelessness, neglect, and being ignored by everyone…

Of course, the word "cù" has many other meanings.

"Let's just finish this job, Mr. Matchmaker."

He leaped onto the top of the mangrove tree.

"He's a clumsy old man who can't even weave a thread."

So, is "cù/cù lần" here understood as in the "Vietnamese Dictionary" (Vietlex): "Dull, slow (implying criticism or humor): How can someone be so clumsy?" No. In this context, "cù lần" is a shortened version of "cù lần cù cứa" - referring to the act of hesitating, procrastinating, delaying, or procrastinating. Depending on the context, it can also be understood as "cù lơ cù trượt," "cù nảy/cù nhang/cù nhầy/cù nhựa," etc.

Not only that, there's another word that can now only be found in "Dai Nam Quoc Am Tu Vi" (1895): "Cu Xay: Likes to make a mess; persistent and stubborn. When demanding repayment, they keep making a mess." In this case, with that persistent and stubborn nature, people in the South used to call it "cu chi cu mai".

Source: https://nld.com.vn/van-nghe/cu-bat-cu-bo-la-gi-20230318205937041.htm