Definition

1. Verb (colloquial, vulgar):
   • To bribe, to grease someone's palm: The act of giving money or gifts to someone, especially an official, to obtain a favor, circumvent rules, or influence a decision. It implies a covert, illicit transaction.
   • To silence or subdue through bribery or force: The phrase carries a secondary connotation of using a payoff to "punch" or shut someone's mouth ("mõm" is a vulgar term for mouth), stopping them from complaining, exposing something, or interfering.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Hắn định đấm mõm cảnh sát để khỏi bị phạt. (He tried to bribe the police officer to avoid getting a ticket.)
  • Muốn việc đó thông qua nhanh, có khi phải đấm mõm vài người. (To get that matter approved quickly, sometimes you have to grease a few palms.)
  • Cứ đấm mõm nó một phát cho nó im. (Just bribe him to shut him up.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is highly informal and vulgar. It is used in casual, often cynical speech about corruption and is not suitable for formal or polite contexts.
• The imagery is aggressive, combining "đấm" (to punch) with "mõm" (snout/mouth), suggesting a forceful way to gain compliance or silence.

Variants and Related Words

• Đấm họng (colloquial, vulgar): A direct synonym, meaning the same thing ("họng" means throat).
• Hối lộ (verb): The standard, formal term for "to bribe". This is the appropriate word for legal and formal contexts.
• Phong bì (noun, euphemistic): Literally "envelope," often used as a euphemism for a bribe, as in "đưa phong bì" (to give an envelope).

Synonyms

• Bribe: To persuade someone to act in one's favor by a gift of money or other inducement.
• Grease someone's palm (idiom): To give someone money in order to get them to do something, especially something dishonest.
• Buy off (phrasal verb): To pay someone to stop them from causing trouble or threatening you.

Related Phrases/Idioms

• Chạy chọt: To run around (using connections and often bribes) to get something done. This is a broader, slightly less vulgar term for using influence and illicit incentives.
• Có tiền mua tiên cũng được: A cynical proverb meaning "With money, you can even buy a fairy," reflecting a belief that money (and by extension, bribes) can solve any problem.

1. (thông tục) như đấm họng