liếm gót
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To lick someone's boots; to grovel; to fawn: The act of flattering or being obsequiously subservient to someone in a degrading manner, often for personal gain or favor. It implies extreme servility and a lack of self-respect.
Usage Examples
- Verb phrase:
- Hắn ta sẵn sàng liếm gót sếp để được thăng chức. (He is willing to lick his boss's boots to get a promotion.)
- Bọn tay sai chỉ biết liếm gót ngoại bang. (The lackeys only know how to grovel before foreign powers.)
- Thái độ liếm gót ấy thật đáng khinh. (That bootlicking attitude is truly despicable.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase is used metaphorically and is highly pejorative. It describes behavior, not a literal action.
- It can be used as a noun phrase by adding a classifier or in a descriptive context (e.g., - a bootlicker).
- Hắn là một tên liếm gót chính hiệu. (He is a certified bootlicker.)
Variants and Related Words
- Nịnh hót (v): to flatter, to adulate (a more general term for flattery, less extreme than ).
- Bợ đỡ (v): to toady, to suck up to (similar in meaning, but is stronger and more vivid).
- Xu nịnh (v): to fawn, to curry favor (emphasizes using flattery to gain favor).
- Kẻ xu nịnh (n): a sycophant, a flatterer.
Synonyms
- Grovel: to behave in a servile or obsequious manner.
- Fawn: to flatter or praise excessively.
- Kowtow: to act in an excessively subservient manner (originally a Chinese custom of bowing).
- Bootlick (v) / Bootlicker (n): the direct English equivalents.
Related Phrases / Idioms
- Liếm gót giày: A variant with the same meaning, literally "to lick shoes."
- Hành động liếm gót giày ấy chẳng mang lại lợi ích thực sự. (That shoe-licking action doesn't bring any real benefit.)