Trong tuyết đưa than

Definition

1. Idiom (Thành ngữ):
   • To send charcoal in a snowstorm: A classical Vietnamese idiom derived from Chinese, meaning to provide timely and critical assistance to someone in urgent need or desperate circumstances. It emphasizes help given precisely when it is most needed, often during extreme hardship.

Usage Examples

• Idiom:
  • Hành động của anh ấy thật sự là trong tuyết đưa than. (His action was truly like sending charcoal in a snowstorm.)
  • Lúc tôi khó khăn nhất, cô ấy giúp đỡ, đúng là trong tuyết đưa than. (When I was in the most difficulty, she helped me; it was exactly like sending charcoal in a snowstorm.)

Advanced Usage

• This idiom is often used in literary or formal contexts to praise an act of profound kindness and timely support. It carries a classical, scholarly tone due to its Chinese origin.

Variants and Related Words

• Cứu nguy như trong tuyết đưa than: to rescue/save someone in a manner likened to sending charcoal in a snowstorm.
  • Khoản vay ấy đã cứu nguy công ty tôi như trong tuyết đưa than. (That loan saved my company like sending charcoal in a snowstorm.)

Synonyms

• Timely assistance: help given at the perfect moment.
• A godsend: something needed that arrives unexpectedly and opportunely.
• To save the day: to resolve a serious problem just in time.

Related Idioms

• Chết đuối vớ được cọc: (like) a drowning person clutching at a stake. This shares a similar theme of desperate help but implies grasping at any available solution, whereas "trong tuyết đưa than" emphasizes the gracious and intentional act of the helper.
• Xa thơ gần thớt: (distant poetry, nearby chopping block). This idiom contrasts empty words with practical help, making "trong tuyết đưa than" an example of the latter.