Definition

1. Verb:
   • To scrimp and save: To accumulate or gather very small amounts of money or resources slowly and with great effort, often out of necessity.
   • To squeeze out / to milk: To extract money or possessions from someone else, bit by bit, often through cunning or persistent means, with a negative connotation.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Bà cụ bòn từng hột gạo để dành. (The old lady scrimped and saved every grain of rice.)
  • Hắn ta bòn từng xu của ai đó. (He squeezed every penny out of somebody.)
  • Họ phải bòn từng đồng để mua nhà. (They had to scrimp and save every penny to buy a house.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "bòn" inherently carries a nuance of tedious, meticulous, and often desperate accumulation. When referring to one's own resources, it implies poverty and hardship. When referring to taking from others, it implies exploitation and miserliness.

Variants and Related Words

• Bòn mót (v): To glean; to gather what little is left after the main harvest or collection. This can be literal (e.g., in a field) or figurative.
  • Người nông dân bòn mót những bông lúa còn sót. (The farmer gleaned the remaining rice ears.)

Synonyms

• To hoard (gradually): To accumulate slowly.
• To scrape together: To gather with difficulty.
• To extort (in small amounts): To obtain through pressure (implies the "squeezing" meaning).

Related Idioms

• Bòn của: To milk someone's wealth; a common phrase describing the action of gradually taking someone else's assets.
  • Kẻ ấy chỉ biết bòn của gia đình. (That person only knows how to milk the family's wealth.)
• Bòn từng xu, từng hào: To pinch every single penny; emphasizes the extreme meticulousness of saving or squeezing.

verb

1. To save every amount of
   • bòn từng hột gạo
     to save every grain of rice
2. To squeeze
   • bòn từng xu của ai
     to squeeze every penny out of somebody