i have the best book. the best best book. it's a cancelled volume from the oriental institute. get ready:

_four-syllable idiomatic expressions in vietnamese_ by nguyen dang liem.

how beautiful is that? ericka, you must must see this book.

four idioms involving rice: com cao gao kem--"expensive cooked rice, scarce uncooked rice; high cost of living." com lanh canh ngon--"healthy rice, tasty soup; i.e., harmony in family." com thua ca can--"scraps of rice and fish; scraps of food, impoverished situation." com trang ca tu'o'i--"white rice, fresh fish; good food."

i'll post some of them every once in a while. it's accidental poetry again. this book is great. it's part of a series of occasional papers from the east-west center at the university of hawaii. it was published in 1969.