hổ cứ
Definition
- Noun:
- Important position, strategic stronghold: "Hổ cứ" refers to a crucial, strategically important location, often one that is difficult to access or conquer. It implies a place of power, control, or significant influence.
- Key area, vital base: It can denote a central or essential base of operations, especially in military, political, or organizational contexts.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Vùng núi hiểm trở này từng là hổ cứ của quân khởi nghĩa. (This treacherous mountainous region was once the strategic stronghold of the rebel army.)
- Công ty đó đã biến khu vực này thành hổ cứ kinh doanh của họ. (That company has turned this area into their key business base.)
Advanced Usage
- This term is considered literary and somewhat archaic. It is most commonly found in historical, military, or formal descriptive contexts rather than in everyday conversation.
- It often carries a connotation of being impregnable, dominant, or a center of concentrated power.
Variants and Related Words
- Căn cứ địa (noun): Base area, stronghold. (A more common modern term with a similar meaning.)
- Vị trí then chốt (noun phrase): Key position. (A common descriptive phrase.)
- Hổ (noun): Tiger. (The animal, which metaphorically contributes the idea of power and ferocity to "hổ cứ".)
- Cứ (verb/noun): To rely on; base/stronghold. (The element contributing the idea of a base or place of reliance.)
Synonyms
- Căn cứ (n): Base, headquarters.
- Pháo đài (n): Fortress (more literal, but can be used metaphorically).
- Trung tâm quyền lực (n phrase): Center of power.
Related Idioms
- Hổ cứ sơn lâm: Literally "tiger's stronghold in the forest". Used to describe a place where someone holds absolute power or dominance, like a king in their own domain.
- Anh ta làm việc ở đó lâu năm, phòng làm việc của anh ta chẳng khác nào hổ cứ sơn lâm. (He has worked there for many years; his office is like his own personal kingdom.)