Definition

1. Verb:

   • To tug, to pull (physically or metaphorically): The primary meaning of "co kéo" is to pull or tug at something or someone, often persistently. This can be a literal physical action or a figurative action of exerting influence to detain or persuade.
   • To contrive or manage with little; to economize stringently: In a financial or resource context, "co kéo" means to stretch limited means carefully, to manage frugally, or to make ends meet through careful calculation.

2. Verb (colloquial/commercial):

   • To solicit or canvass aggressively: Used particularly in business contexts to describe the act of actively and persistently attracting or pulling in customers or clients.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to tug/detain):

  • Khách đòi về, nhưng chủ cứ co kéo giữ lại. (The guest wanted to leave, but the host kept detaining him by tugging him back.)
  • Đứa trẻ co kéo tay áo mẹ nó. (The child tugged at his mother's sleeve.)

• Verb (to economize):

  • Khéo co kéo mới không nợ. (One must know how to contrive well with little to avoid debt.)
  • Gia đình ấy phải co kéo từng đồng. (That family has to stretch every penny.)

• Verb (to solicit):

  • Nhân viên đó rất giỏi trong việc co kéo khách hàng. (That employee is very good at soliciting customers.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a nuance of persistent, sometimes forceful or insistent, effort. It is not a gentle pull but one that involves effort and determination, whether physically restraining someone, tightly managing a budget, or aggressively seeking business.

Variants and Related Words

• Kéo co (n): This is a distinct noun meaning "tug of war" (the game). It is related etymologically but is a fixed compound with a specific meaning.
  • Họ đang chơi kéo co. (They are playing tug of war.)

Synonyms

• To tug, to pull: To exert force to draw something toward oneself.
• To detain: To keep someone from leaving.
• To economize, to scrimp: To use resources very carefully and frugally.
• To solicit, to canvass: To seek to obtain something, especially business, from someone.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Co kéo chi tiêu: To tighten the purse strings, to cut back on spending.

  • Mùa dịch, mọi người đều phải co kéo chi tiêu. (During the pandemic season, everyone has to tighten their purse strings.)

• Co kéo thời gian: To stretch or bargain for more time (often in a negotiation).

  • Luật sư cố gắng co kéo thời gian cho thân chủ. (The lawyer tried to bargain for more time for his client.)

1. To tug, to pull
   • khách đòi về, nhưng chủ cứ co kéo giữ lại
     the guest wanted to take leave, but the host detained him by tugging him back
2. To contrive with little
   • khéo co kéo mới không nợ
     to know how to contrive well with little and keep one's head above water