Definition

1. Verb (Slang, Vulgar):
   • To excessively flatter or fawn over someone in a servile manner, especially for personal gain: This term describes the act of obsequiously currying favor with a person of authority or influence. It implies a lack of dignity and is highly derogatory.
   • To engage in sycophantic behavior: It refers to acting in a way that is overly obedient and attentive to please someone, often seen as insincere and self-serving.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ta chỉ biết ôm đít sếp để được thăng chức. (He only knows how to lick the boss's arse to get a promotion.)
  • Đừng có ôm đít tôi, tôi không thích điều đó. (Don't you lick my arse, I don't like that.)
  • Cả phòng đều khinh anh ấy vì thói ôm đít cấp trên. (The whole office despises him for his habit of licking the superiors' arses.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is almost exclusively used in informal, colloquial, and often crude contexts. It carries a strong negative connotation and is used to criticize someone's character or actions severely.
• It can be used as a direct accusation or as a description of someone's habitual behavior.

Variants and Related Words

• Kẻ ôm đít (Noun): A sycophant, a bootlicker, an arse-licker.
  • Hắn là một kẻ ôm đít điển hình. (He is a typical arse-licker.)
• Nịnh hót (Verb): To flatter, to adulate. This is a more general and slightly less vulgar term for flattery, though it can also be negative.
• Bợ đỡ (Verb): To fawn, to toady. Another term for servile behavior, also derogatory but less vulgar than "ôm đít".

Synonyms

• Nịnh bợ: To flatter and fawn.
• Xu nịnh: To be obsequious, to grovel.
• Bợ đít (Even more vulgar): A synonym with identical meaning and vulgarity.

Related Phrases

• Chuyên nghiệp ôm đít: To be a professional bootlicker; used to describe someone who is habitually and skillfully sycophantic.
  • Anh ấy chuyên nghiệp ôm đít nên leo chức rất nhanh. (He's a professional arse-licker, so he gets promoted very quickly.)

Related Idioms

• While "ôm đít" itself is a standalone vulgar idiom, it relates conceptually to the idea of "luồn cúi" (to crawl and bow), which describes servile and ingratiating behavior.
• "Nịnh như Tạ Đình Đề": A cultural reference meaning to flatter excessively, akin to being a sycophant. (Tạ Đình Đề is a proverbial historical figure known for flattery).

1. (thông tục)Lick (somebody's) arse