Definition

1. Noun:
   • A short and light cangue: A type of pillory or portable stock, shorter and lighter than a standard cangue, which was locked around a prisoner's neck and sometimes hands. It was used in historical penal systems to punish and publicly shame convicts, often while they performed forced labor or during transport.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Tên tù phạm bị đeo gông cụt và dẫn đi làm dịch. (The convict was fitted with a short cangue and led away to do corvée labor.)
  • Gông cụt nhẹ hơn gông thường nên tù nhân vẫn có thể đi lại và làm việc. (The short cangue was lighter than a regular one, so the prisoner could still walk and work.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "gông cụt" is specific to historical and legal contexts, primarily describing a tool of punishment in pre-modern Vietnam. It may appear in historical documents, literature, or discussions about traditional judicial practices.

Variants and Related Words

• Gông (n): The general term for a cangue, a larger and heavier wooden board worn around the neck.

  • Anh ta bị kết tội và đeo gông. (He was convicted and placed in the cangue.)

• Cùm (n): Stocks or shackles, typically for restraining the feet or hands.

  • Chân tên tù bị cùm chặt. (The prisoner's feet were locked in stocks.)

Synonyms

• Pillory: A wooden framework with holes for the head and hands, used to publicly restrain and expose an offender to ridicule.
• Cangue: The specific East Asian term for a portable pillory, a large, heavy wooden board worn around the neck.
• Shackles: A general term for restraints, especially for the limbs.

Related Idioms

• Mang gông vào cổ: To bear a burden or punishment; to be subjected to shame and restraint.

  • Hành động đó chẳng khác nào tự mang gông vào cổ. (That action is no different from putting a cangue around your own neck.)

• Trả nợ gông: To pay a debt to society; to serve one's punishment.

  • Hắn phải ra tù để trả nợ gông. (He had to go to prison to pay his debt to society.)