Definition

1. Verb:
   • To take the cream off the top, to skim the best part: "hớt ngọn" describes the action of taking the most valuable, profitable, or easiest part of something before others can, often in a shrewd or opportunistic manner.
   • To steal a march on someone and get the profit: It implies gaining an early advantage over competitors to secure the primary benefit.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Công ty lớn thường hớt ngọn các ý tưởng sáng tạo từ các startup. (Large companies often skim the best part of innovative ideas from startups.)
  • Hắn ta luôn tìm cách hớt ngọn lợi nhuận từ mọi thương vụ. (He always finds a way to take the cream off the top of every deal.)

Advanced Usage

• "hớt ngọn thị trường": to skim the market.

  • Chiến lược của họ là hớt ngọn thị trường cao cấp trước. (Their strategy is to skim the high-end market first.)

• "bị hớt ngọn": to have the best part taken by someone else.

  • Sau bao nỗ lực, anh ấy buồn vì bị đối thủ hớt ngọn thành quả. (After all the effort, he was sad because a rival took the cream off his achievement.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hớt (verb): to skim off, to scoop up (e.g., - to skim off foam).
• Chặn ngọn (verb, less common): to intercept at the source, similar in meaning to "hớt ngọn".

Synonyms

• Tước đoạt phần chính: to deprive someone of the main part.
• Chiếm phần lợi nhất: to seize the most profitable part.
• Ăn chặn từ đầu: to intercept and take from the very beginning.

Related Idioms

• "Ăn trên ngồi trốc": to live in luxury (often from exploiting others' labor). While not identical, it shares a connotation of taking the best for oneself.
• "Vơ cả lẫn thúng": to grab everything, both the basket and its contents (to be greedy). This is more extreme than "hớt ngọn," which implies taking just the prime part.

1. Steal an early march on someone and get a frofit