Actually, the proverb "Old buffalo grazing on young grass " has a much broader meaning, referring to older men who like younger women, not just Vietnamese expats. This proverb is somewhat similar to "Old people playing with paper drums," meaning "old people still desire things that are inappropriate for their age," because paper drums are just children's toys.
In terms of origin, the idiom " An old buffalo grazing on young grass" did not appear in the 1980s or 1990s, but rather dates back to the distant past of Su Dongpo in China, meaning from the 11th or 12th century.
"Old ox grazes on tender grass" is a translation of a poem by Su Dongpo from the Song Dynasty: "Old ox eats tender grass " (老牛吃嫩草), meaning "Old ox eats tender grass". (Please note, many people previously thought that "ox" (牛) meant buffalo, but it is actually a cow, while "water ox" (水牛) is the actual buffalo).
Zhang Xian was a famous poet and friend of Su Dongpo. One day, Zhang Xian (80 years old) invited Su Dongpo to his concubine's wedding, but didn't mention that the bride was only 18. Su Dongpo arrived and was astonished by the sight of an "old man marrying a young girl." Understanding his friend's intention, Zhang Xian smiled and immediately recited four lines: "我年八十卿十八, 卿是红颜我白发, 与卿颠倒本同庚，只隔中间一花甲," which means, "I am eighty years old, she is eighteen; she is a beautiful woman, I am old. We are madly in love, both of us the same age, only sixty years apart."
Seeing Zhang Xian gloating over the scene of "an old bull eating young grass," Su Dongpo mocked him with the lines: 十八新娘八十郎，苍苍白发对红妆; 鸳鸯被里成双夜，一树梨花压海棠, meaning "The bride is eighteen, the groom is eighty, gray hair beside red jewelry; the lovebirds are trapped under the blanket at night, a pear tree overshadows the begonia." When composing the line "一树梨花压海棠" (Yi shu li hua ya hai tang), Su Dongpo meant that Zhang Xian was the "pear tree," and the bride was the "begonia." The pear tree overshadowing the begonia implies "an old bull eating young grass." Since then, the phrase "Old ox eats tender grass" (老牛吃嫩草) spread throughout China and was later included in the Hakka Dictionary of Commonly Used Languages published by Taiwan's Ministry of Education .
In English, there are idioms that correspond to the phrase "an old bull grazing on young grass" or " an old cow eating young grass ," such as "May-December Romance" or " May-December relationship." "May" refers to a young woman, while "December" refers to an old man. The term "May-December Romance" is believed to originate from Geoffrey Chaucer's *The Canterbury Tales* from the Middle Ages. The term can also be simply called "May-December " or " to rob the cradle," meaning to marry/have a relationship with someone younger than oneself.
Conversely, if an older woman has an affair or marries a younger man, it's called "pilot flying an old woman's plane." This is a common idiom in Vietnam: pilot (young man), old woman's plane (older woman). Cantonese also has an idiom about this situation: bảo lão ngẫu (煲老藕, bou1 lou5 ngau5), meaning "boiling an old lotus root," implying "an older wife marrying a younger husband."
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