dữ đòn

Thân thiện

Ông chủ xưởng gỗ đó nổi tiếng là rất dữ đòn với thợ.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Violent in administering beatings; prone to using corporal punishment: Describes a person, especially in a position of authority (like a teacher or guard), who is harsh and frequently resorts to physical punishment, such as hitting or caning.
   • Severe in meting out physical discipline: Characterizes someone who is known for the harshness and frequency of their physical chastisements.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Ông thầy ngày xưa ấy nổi tiếng là dữ đòn. (That teacher from the old days was famous for being violent with the cane.)
  • Người cai ngục dữ đòn bị phản đối. (The guard who was prone to beatings was protested.)
  • Cha nó ngày trước hơi dữ đòn. (His father in the past was somewhat severe with physical punishment.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is historically and culturally specific, often evoking the strict, punitive disciplinary methods common in traditional educational or penal systems. It implies a sustained pattern of behavior, not a single incident.

Variants and Related Words

• Hành hạ (v): to mistreat, to torment (a broader term for abuse).
• Bạo hành (v/n): to commit violence/violence (a more general modern term for abuse, including physical).
• Đánh đập (v): to beat, to hit (describes the action itself).

Synonyms

• Cruel (specifically in punishment)
• Brutal (in administering discipline)
• Harsh (in a physically punitive way)
• Severe

Related Idioms

• While "dữ đòn" itself is not typically part of a longer idiom, the concept relates to proverbs about harsh discipline.
  • Thương cho roi cho vọt: (Spare the rod, spoil the child.) This proverb reflects the cultural context that sometimes accepted, though "dữ đòn" exceeds its reasonable application.

Học thuật

1. Violent (inclined to beat up pupils, prisoners...)
   • Thầy đồ dữ đòn
     A violent school-master (of former times, inclined to beat up his pupils