Definition

1. Verb:
   • To do everything oneself; to take on all tasks: To assume or handle all duties and responsibilities, even those that should belong to others, often leading to a centralized or inefficient style of work.
   • To make excuses; to argue defensively: To try to justify one's actions or mistakes with various reasons and arguments, making it difficult to assign blame or refute the claims.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to do everything oneself):
  • Đừng bao biện làm thay quần chúng. (Don't act as a Pooh-Bah for the masses.)
  • Anh ấy có tác phong bao biện, không biết giao việc. (He has a Pooh-Bah's style of work; he doesn't know how to delegate.)
• Verb (to make excuses):
  • Đã sai lại còn bao biện. (You were wrong, yet you still make excuses.)
  • Cậu ấy chỉ giỏi bao biện thôi. (He's only good at making excuses.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a negative connotation, criticizing either an overbearing, centralized management style or a dishonest refusal to admit fault.
• In organizational contexts, it describes a failure to delegate, where one person inappropriately controls all aspects of a task.

Variants and Related Words

• Bào chữa (v): To defend, to plead for (often used in legal or formal contexts, less colloquial than the "excuse-making" sense of ).
  • Luật sư bào chữa cho thân chủ. (The lawyer defended his client.)

Synonyms

• To monopolize tasks: To take on all duties.
• To make excuses / to justify oneself: To give reasons to defend one's actions.
• To argue defensively: To contend in a self-justifying manner.

Related Idioms

• Ôm đồm việc: To take on too many tasks (similar to the first meaning of , emphasizing the burden of overwork).
  • Anh ấy ôm đồm quá nhiều việc nên kiệt sức. (He took on too many tasks so he's exhausted.)

verb

1. To act as a Pooh-Bah
   • đừng bao biện làm thay quần chúng
     don't act as Pooh-Bah for the masses
   • tác phong bao biện
     A Pooh-Bah's style of work