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You are here: Home / Uncategorized / 道草を食う (Michikusa o kuu): Meaning | 英訳

道草を食う (Michikusa o kuu): Meaning | 英訳

May 23, 2021

Table of Contents

  • Definition
  • Usage
  • Example
  • Related Words
    • Synonyms
      • 油(あぶら)を売(う)る
      • 寄(よ)り道(みち)する
      • Antonyms
      • 直帰(ちょっき)する “go straight home”
    • Related Post:  Japanese Idioms about Plants

Definition

道草(みちくさ)を食(く)う (michikusa o kuu) literally means ‘to eat grass on the road’. Figuratively, it means that you stop by somewhere and waste time/do something unplanned on the way to the destination. This idiom originates from how a horse suddenly stops and eats grass along the road.

Usage

(〜で)道草を食う: waste time/loiter/do something unplanned/loiter (at ~) on one’s way

Example

コンビニで道草を食っていたら、遅刻(ちこく)してしまった。
I stopped by at a convenience store and I ended up being late.

Related Words

Synonyms

油(あぶら)を売(う)る

literally “sell oil” and figuratively “waste time somewhere (esp. during working hours or before coming home from school)”

寄(よ)り道(みち)する

“stop by somewhere”

Antonyms

直帰(ちょっき)する “go straight home”

Related Post:  Japanese Idioms about Plants

Eat Grass on the Road? Funny Japanese Idioms about Plants

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