rạch mặt ăn vạ

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

Slashing one's own face to press a claim — self-inflicted injury as extortion theater.

Literally: cut the face, demand damages

Examples

Kiểu rạch mặt ăn vạ ấy ai còn lạ.That self-cut shakedown act fools nobody now.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

Sources & notes

Discovered via Vietnamese Wiktionary, Thể loại:Thành ngữ tiếng Việt (CC BY-SA 4.0); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “rạch mặt ăn vạ” mean?

Slashing one's own face to press a claim — self-inflicted injury as extortion theater. Literally: cut the face, demand damages

Is “rạch mặt ăn vạ” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.