Definition

1. Idiom (Thành ngữ):
   • To renege on a debt or promise, especially in a gambling context; to abscond without paying what is owed. The phrase originates from gambling, where a player who loses all their money and cannot pay their debts flees the game and their village to avoid creditors.
   • To back out of a commitment or responsibility; to fail to honor an agreement. This meaning extends the idiom to general situations where someone breaks a promise or shirks their duty, often in a cowardly or dishonest manner.

Usage Examples

• Idiom:
  • Hắn thua bạc rồi chạy làng, để lại món nợ lớn. (He lost at gambling and absconded, leaving a large debt behind.)
  • Đừng hứa nếu anh định chạy làng. (Don't make a promise if you plan to back out of it.)
  • Công ty ký hợp đồng xong lại chạy làng, không chịu trả tiền. (The company signed the contract and then reneged, refusing to pay.)

Advanced Usage

• The idiom is often used to describe a specific, blameworthy act of betrayal of trust, rather than a simple mistake. It implies a loss of face and social standing for the person who "chạy làng."

Variants and Related Words

• Chạy trốn (v): to flee, to escape. This is the literal component verb phrase meaning "to run away," which forms the basis of the idiom.
• Bội tín (v): to break faith, to be untrustworthy. A more formal synonym for failing to keep a promise.

Synonyms

• To welch (on a bet/debt): to fail to honor a gambling debt.
• To abscond: to leave secretly to avoid capture or debt.
• To renege: to go back on a promise or agreement.

Related Idioms

• Ăn không nói có: to lie, to claim something exists when it doesn't (literally: to eat "no" but say "yes"). This shares the theme of dishonesty.
• Hứa hươu hứa vượn: to make empty, extravagant promises. This relates to the theme of making and then breaking commitments.

1. To throw up the game and go bankrupt