Definition

1. Phrase:
   • To wash down with alcohol: To eat a small amount of food, typically a savory snack or relish, while drinking alcohol, especially strong spirits like rice wine. The food helps to mitigate the burning or "spicy" sensation of the alcohol and can enhance the drinking experience.

Usage Examples

• Phrase:
  • Phải có lạc rang để đưa cay. (We must have some roasted peanuts to wash down the liquor.)
  • Món nem chua này dùng để đưa cay rất tuyệt. (This fermented pork roll is excellent for washing down strong drinks.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is deeply embedded in Vietnamese drinking culture. It refers to the specific practice of consuming accompaniments, not with the primary goal of sating hunger, but to complement and balance the act of drinking alcoholic beverages.
• It often implies a social, leisurely context among friends or family.

Variants and Related Words

• Đồ nhắm (n): General term for the savory snacks or small dishes eaten while drinking alcohol.
  • Bánh đa, khô mực là những món đồ nhắm phổ biến. (Rice crackers and dried squid are common drinking snacks.)

Synonyms

• To have a chaser: To drink a non-alcoholic beverage after a shot of liquor (similar in purpose but different in form).
• To eat with a drink: A more general, descriptive equivalent.

Related Idioms

• While "đưa cay" itself is a set phrase, it is central to the idiom "rượu ngon không có bạn hiền, không mua được; bạn hiền không có rượu ngon, không đưa cay được", which highlights the importance of both good friends and good wine for a perfect gathering.

1. Wash down with alcohol
   • Phải có cái gì ngon ngon để đưa cay
     We must have some relishes to wash down with this wine