Definition

1. Verb:
   • To row and punt: The literal meaning refers to the act of propelling and steering a boat using oars (rowing) and a pole (punting), often in difficult conditions.
   • To struggle through / to manage with difficulty: The primary figurative meaning describes making great efforts to cope with, handle, or navigate a challenging situation, often with limited resources.
   • To make excuses / to equivocate: In a specific context, it means to try to justify oneself or make weak excuses after making a mistake or being caught in a fault.

Usage Examples

• Literal:
  • Chèo chống mãi mới đưa được thuyền vào bờ. (By dint of rowing and punting, he succeeded in bringing the boat to shore.)
• Figurative (to struggle through):
  • Một mình chèo chống nuôi cả đàn em. (By buffeting with difficulties alone, she managed to bring up her band of sisters and brothers.)
  • Công ty đang cố gắng chèo chống qua cuộc khủng hoảng tài chính. (The company is trying to struggle through the financial crisis.)
• Figurative (to make excuses):
  • Anh ta mắc lỗi nhưng rất giỏi chèo chống. (He made a mistake but is very skilled at making excuses.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often implies a continuous, strenuous, and skillful effort to maintain control or stability in adverse circumstances, much like steering a boat in a storm.
• It can carry a slightly negative connotation when referring to making excuses, suggesting the arguments are insubstantial or evasive.

Variants and Related Words

• Chèo (v): to row.
• Chống (v): to prop up, to resist, to punt (a boat).
• Chống chế (v): to argue back, to justify oneself (closely related to the "making excuses" sense).

Synonyms

• To cope: to deal effectively with something difficult.
• To manage: to succeed in handling a situation.
• To navigate (difficulties): to find a way through a complex problem.
• To make excuses: to attempt to justify a fault.

Related Idioms

• Chèo chống con thuyền giữa cơn dông tố: Literally "to row and punt the boat in the middle of a storm." Figuratively means to steer or manage a situation through a period of great crisis or turmoil.
  • Giám đốc phải chèo chống con thuyền công ty giữa cơn dông tố suy thoái. (The director had to steer the company's boat through the storm of the recession.)

verb

1. To row and punt
   • chèo chống mãi mới đưa được thuyền vào bờ
     by dint of rowing and punting, he succeeded in bringing the boat to shore
2. To buffet with difficulties
   • một mình chèo chống nuôi cả đàn em
     by buffeting with difficulties alone, she managed to bring up her band of sisters and brothers