แถ
talk one's way out of something
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- 1 talk one's way out of something、make up evasive excuses、bluff one's way through an answer
A casual, disparaging word for trying to talk your way out of a situation with evasive, strained, or made-up explanations.
talk one's way out of something、make up evasive excuses、bluff one's way through an answer
To avoid admitting fault or ignorance by talking evasively, shifting the point, or inventing an explanation.
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ไม่รู้ก็อย่าแถ mây rúu kɔ̂ɔ yàa thɛ̌ɛ If you don't know, don't make something up. ไม่รู้ก็อย่าแถ details
Learning notes
Explanation
แถ is an informal and openly critical verb. It labels what someone says as a strained excuse, an attempt to change the subject, or an improvised story meant to hide fault or ignorance. Common patterns include อย่าแถ (“stop trying to talk your way out of it”), แถว่า… (“claim that… as an excuse”), and แถไปเรื่อย (“keep making things up”). It can also describe bluffing when someone does not know an answer. This is best understood as an extension of the same central idea—covering up an uncomfortable truth with dubious talk—rather than as a separate sense. A proposed literal sense involving sideways sliding was not sufficiently supported by the other references, so it is not included as a core learner meaning.
Usage
It is common in arguments, casual conversations, and social-media exchanges when accusing someone of refusing to admit an obvious mistake and inventing excuses instead. Speakers may also use it self-deprecatingly when admitting that they improvised an answer they did not know.
Caution
The word directly dismisses someone’s explanation as dishonest or absurd, so it can sound confrontational or insulting. Avoid using it toward superiors or in formal settings. Use อธิบาย for neutral explanation or แก้ตัว for the broader idea of defending or excusing oneself.
Differences from similar words
1 talk one's way out of something synonyms
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บ่ายเบี่ยง focuses on evading a question, duty, or request. แถ more strongly suggests improvising dubious explanations in an attempt to talk one's way out of trouble.