Definition

Verb: - To glean / to scrounge / to scrape together: The primary meaning of "bòn mót" is to collect or save every tiny, leftover, or scattered bit of something with great effort and thriftiness. It implies a meticulous and often desperate gathering of remnants that others have overlooked or discarded.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Bà cụ bòn mót từng hạt thóc rơi vãi trên sân. (The old woman gleaned every single grain of rice spilled in the yard.)
  • Gia đình nghèo phải bòn mót từng đồng để sống qua ngày. (The poor family had to scrounge for every penny to get by each day.)
  • Họ bòn mót những mảnh vụn gỗ còn sót lại sau khi đóng tủ. (They scraped together the leftover wood fragments after building the cabinet.)

Advanced Usage

• The verb often carries a connotation of necessity, poverty, or extreme frugality. It is not typically used for casual collection but for a diligent, exhaustive effort to waste nothing.
• It can be used metaphorically for non-physical things, such as information or time.
  • Nhà báo ấy bòn mót thông tin từ mọi cuộc trò chuyện. (That journalist gleans information from every conversation.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bòn (v): To dig out or extract something little by little, often from a source that is being depleted. It can have a negative connotation of taking the last bits selfishly.
  • Nó bòn tiền từ ví của mẹ. (He pinched money from his mother's wallet bit by bit.)
• Mót (v): To pick up what is left after the main harvest or collection; to glean.
  • Trẻ con đi mót khoai trên cánh đồng. (The children went to glean for potatoes in the field.)

Synonyms

• Glean: To gather leftover grain or information.
• Scrounge: To seek out or collect something, especially from meager sources.
• Scrape together: To collect or assemble something with difficulty from small amounts.
• Salvage: To rescue or save something from being wasted.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Bòn mót từng li từng tí: To scrounge or save every tiny bit. This phrase intensifies the meaning of "bòn mót," emphasizing the action on a minute scale.
  • Bà ấy bòn mót từng li từng tí, không bao giờ lãng phí. (She scrounges every little bit, never wasting anything.)

verb

1. To save every smallest bit of
   • bòn mót từng hạt thóc rơi vãi
     to save every smallest grain of rice spilled