Definition

1. Verb:
   • To beseech, to implore plaintively: To beg or plead with someone earnestly and desperately, often in a sorrowful or pitiful manner. This is a figurative expression describing a state of extreme supplication.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Nó đã cắn cỏ xin chủ nợ gia hạn thêm một tuần. (He beseeched the creditor to extend the deadline by one more week.)
  • Thấy hoàn cảnh khó khăn, bà ấy chỉ biết cắn cỏ cầu cứu hàng xóm. (Seeing the difficult situation, she could only implore the neighbors for help.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase "cắn cỏ" is almost exclusively used in the fixed idiom "cắn rơm cắn cỏ". It vividly depicts a person lowering themselves to the point of "biting straw or grass" (a humble, ground-level position) while making a desperate plea. It emphasizes the depth of the entreaty.
  • Trong cơn cùng quẫn, hắn phải cắn rơm cắn cỏ van xin đối thủ tha mạng. (In a moment of utter desperation, he had to beg plaintively for his opponent to spare his life.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cắn rơm cắn cỏ (idiomatic verb phrase): This is the full and more common form. It carries the same meaning as "cắn cỏ" but is more frequently used.
  • Không còn cách nào khác, anh ta đành cắn rơm cắn cỏ. (With no other way out, he had no choice but to beseech plaintively.)

Synonyms

• Van xin: to beg, to implore.
• Nài nỉ: to plead, to entreat.
• Cầu khẩn: to supplicate, to appeal earnestly.

Notes on Meaning

• "Cắn cỏ" is a highly figurative and literary term. It is not used in everyday, casual speech. It describes a specific type of pleading that is deeply humble, desperate, and often accompanied by a sense of powerlessness or defeat.
• The literal meaning ("to bite grass") is not used. The word always carries its figurative sense of desperate begging.

1. To beseech, to implore plaintively