chạy chọt

Thân thiện

Anh ấy chạy chọt khắp nơi để xin việc làm.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To solicit (favors, influence, or special treatment): The primary meaning of "chạy chọt" is to actively and often persistently seek help, favors, or a desired outcome from people in authority or with influence, typically through personal appeals and networking.
   • To lobby or canvass (in a personal, often unofficial capacity): It implies running around to various places or people to plead one's case, often for a personal gain like a job, a permit, or to avoid punishment.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Hắn đút lót bọn quan lại, chạy chọt chức lý trưởng. (He bribed the mandarins to solicit the position of village headman.)
  • Chạy chọt khắp nơi. (To run about soliciting favours everywhere.)
  • Gia đình anh ấy phải chạy chọt để anh được ra tù sớm. (His family had to solicit favors to get him released from prison early.)

Advanced Usage

• The term carries a strong connotation of using personal connections, persistent pleading, and sometimes implies engaging in grey-area or corrupt practices (like bribery) to achieve a goal. It is not a neutral term for formal lobbying.
• It often describes a tiresome, undignified process of seeking patronage.

Variants and Related Words

• Chạy (v): While "chạy" alone can mean "to run," in colloquial use it can be a shorthand for the concept of "chạy chọt," e.g., (to solicit a job), (to seek influence in a legal case).
• Cầu cạnh (v): to beg, to implore. This is a close synonym but emphasizes the act of begging more than the "running around" aspect.

Synonyms

• To solicit: To seek to obtain something from someone.
• To canvass: To solicit support, votes, or opinions, though "chạy chọt" is more personal and less formal.
• To lobby (informally): To try to influence someone in authority, but "chạy chọt" is not institutional.
• To pull strings: To use one's influence with other people to get something done.

Related Idioms

• Chạy ngược chạy xuôi: To run hither and thither, to be extremely busy running around (often for the purpose of "chạy chọt").
  • Ông ấy chạy ngược chạy xuôi tìm chỗ chạy chọt cho con. (He ran everywhere looking for a place to solicit help for his child.)

Học thuật

verb

1. To solicit
   • hắn đút lót bọn quan lại, chạy chọt chức lý trưởng
     he bribed mandarins to solicit the position of village headman
   • chạy chọt khắp nơi
     to run about soliciting favours