Definition

1. Verb (colloquial, often vulgar):
   • To bust one's ass; to work one's tail off; to strive extremely hard: To exert oneself with great, often frantic, effort to accomplish a task or overcome a difficulty. It implies strenuous physical or mental labor.
   • To struggle; to flail about: To make desperate, sometimes chaotic efforts in a challenging situation.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Phải sầy vảy mới kịp hạn chót. (I had to bust my ass to meet the deadline.)
  • Nó sầy vảy mãi mới sửa được cái máy. (He struggled and flailed about for a long time before he could fix the machine.)
  • Làm cho xong việc ấy còn sầy vảy. (To finish that work, one still has to strive extremely hard.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is considered vulgar or very informal and is used to emphasize the intensity of the effort, often with a tone of complaint or exhaustion. It is not used in formal writing or speech.

Variants and Related Words

• Vật vã (v): to struggle, to writhe (in pain or effort). Less vulgar but still denotes great difficulty.
  • Anh ấy vật vã với đống bài tập. (He struggled with the pile of homework.)

Synonyms

• To exert oneself: to put forth effort.
• To toil: to work hard.
• To strive: to make great efforts.
• To knock oneself out (idiomatic): to work very hard.

Related Idioms

• Đổ mồ hôi sôi nước mắt: to work until one's sweat boils and tears flow (to work incredibly hard).
  • Họ làm việc đổ mồ hôi sôi nước mắt. (They worked incredibly hard.)