Definitions

1. Verb:
   • To grab someone by the neck, to seize by the scruff of the neck: The primary meaning describes the physical action of grabbing or seizing a person, typically by the back of the neck or collar, often with a connotation of force, threat, or dragging someone along.
   • To force, to coerce, to drag someone somewhere: Used metaphorically to describe compelling or forcing someone to do something or go somewhere against their will.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Bảo vệ gô cổ tên trộm dẫn ra ngoài. (The security guard grabbed the thief by the neck and dragged him outside.)
  • Nó bị gô cổ lên đồn công an. (He was seized by the scruff of the neck and taken to the police station.)
  • Đừng có gô cổ tôi đi uống rượu. (Don't force/drag me out to drink alcohol.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase inherently carries a strong sense of coercion, physical force, or lack of consent. It is often used in contexts involving conflict, arrest, punishment, or strong persuasion.
• It can be used hyperbolically in informal speech to describe being strongly pressured into an activity, even without actual physical contact.
  • Sáng nào mẹ cũng gô cổ tôi dậy tập thể dục. (Every morning, my mom practically drags me out of bed to exercise.)

Variants and Related Words

• Gô (verb): A less common, shortened form with the same core meaning of grabbing or seizing, often by the neck. "Gô cổ" is the more complete and commonly used phrase.
• Lôi cổ (verb): A very close synonym, meaning to drag by the neck. The nuances are nearly identical, though "lôi" emphasizes the dragging motion slightly more.
• Kéo cổ (verb): Another synonym meaning to pull by the neck.

Synonyms

• Lôi kéo: To drag/pull along (can be physical or metaphorical).
• Ép buộc: To compel, to force.
• Bắt đi: To take someone away (by force).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Gô cổ lại: To grab and detain someone.
  • Cảnh sát gô cổ lại nghi phạm ngay tại hiện trường. (The police grabbed and detained the suspect right at the scene.)
• Gô cổ đi: To grab and take someone away.
  • Bố nó gô cổ đi về nhà vì tội nghịch ngợm. (His father grabbed him by the neck and took him home for misbehaving.)

Related Idioms

• While "gô cổ" itself is a vivid idiomatic phrase, it is often a component in descriptive narratives rather than part of a fixed, longer idiom. Its meaning is direct and figurative based on the literal action.