losing one's livelihood; being out of work; losing one's bread and butter
Colloquial expression literally meaning 'the eating-up of one's food', used to describe a situation where one loses their source of income or job. Often used in the phrase おまんまの食い上げになる.
The company went bankrupt, and I lost my livelihood.
If I lose this job, I'll be out on the street.
路頭に迷う means 'to be homeless' or 'to be out on the street', focusing on the resulting hardship rather than the loss of income itself.
Standard kana-kanji mixed spelling; おまんま is a colloquial term for food/meal.
Kanji spelling for まんま; less common and may be seen as nonstandard.
From おまんま (colloquial for 'food' or 'meal', a child's word or informal term) + の + 食い上げ (noun form of 食い上げる, 'to eat up completely'). The phrase figuratively means having one's food source taken away, i.e., losing one's livelihood.