cúi luồn

cúi luồn

Anh ta cúi luồn trước sếp để được thăng chức.

Definition
  1. Verb:
    • To grovel, to bow and scrape: "cúi luồn" describes the act of excessively lowering oneself, often by bowing or humbling oneself in a servile manner to gain favor or avoid trouble from someone in a superior position.
    • To act obsequiously, to fawn: It implies behaving with exaggerated flattery or deference, showing a lack of self-respect to please a superior.
Usage Examples
  • Verb:
    • Anh ta sẵn sàng cúi luồn trước sếp để được thăng chức. (He is willing to grovel before his boss to get a promotion.)
    • Tôi không thích những kẻ chỉ biết cúi luồn nịnh hót. (I don't like people who only know how to fawn and flatter.)
    • Trong xã hội phong kiến, nhiều quan lại phải cúi luồn trước vua. (In feudal society, many mandarins had to bow and scrape before the king.)
Advanced Usage

  • "thái độ cúi luồn": a groveling attitude.

    • Thái độ cúi luồn của hắn khiến mọi người khinh bỉ. (His groveling attitude made everyone despise him.)

  • "cúi luồn nịnh bợ": to grovel and flatter (often used as a combined phrase for emphasis).

    • Hắn chẳng có tài cán gì, chỉ giỏi cúi luồn nịnh bợ. (He has no real talent, he's only good at groveling and flattery.)
Variants and Related Words

  • Luồn cúi (verb): This is a common variant with the same meaning as "cúi luồn". The order of the words can be reversed.

    • Hắn luồn cúi để sống sót trong công ty đó. (He groveled to survive in that company.)

  • Khúm núm (verb): to act in a timid, overly deferential, or cringing manner. It is similar but can imply more fear.

    • Người đầy tớ khúm núm trước ông chủ. (The servant acted obsequiously before the master.)
Synonyms
  • Nịnh hót: to flatter, to adulate (focuses more on the use of sweet words).
  • Bợ đỡ: to suck up to, to curry favor (implies seeking benefits through servile behavior).
  • Quỵ lụy: to submit obsequiously, to prostrate oneself (often in a desperate or pleading context).
Related Phrases / Idioms
  • Cúi đầu luồn cột: (Idiom) Literally "to bow one's head and crawl under a pillar". It vividly depicts the act of extreme humiliation and servility to achieve a goal.
    • Để có được hợp đồng, ông ấy sẵn sàng cúi đầu luồn cột. (To get the contract, he is willing to undergo any humiliation.)