大おおぼらを吹ふく

Meanings

1

expression, godan verb (-ku)

talk big; boast; tell tall tales

idiomatic expression

Idiomatic expression for exaggerated boasting or telling unbelievable stories, often with a humorous or critical tone.

彼かれはいつも大おおぼらを吹ふいてばかりいる。
He's always talking big.

そんな

大おお

ぼら

を

吹ふ

い

て

も

誰だれ

も

信しん

じ

ない

よ

。

Nobody will believe you if you tell such tall tales.

Written forms

大おおぼらを吹ふく
Common mixed spelling; ぼら is usually written in kana.
大おお法ぼ螺らを吹ふく
Full kanji spelling; 法螺 is rare and may be unfamiliar to many readers.

Kanji

大large, big
吹blow, breathe, puff
法method, law, rule
螺small, edible, helical fresh-water mollusk

Similar words

ほらを吹ふく
A milder, more common expression for boasting or exaggerating; 大ぼらを吹く intensifies it to mean 'telling huge lies' or 'bragging outrageously'.
自じ慢まんする
A straightforward verb for 'to boast' or 'to be proud of'; 大ぼらを吹く implies exaggeration or fabrication, not just pride.

Etymology

From 大 (big) + ぼら (tall tale, from 法螺貝, a conch shell used as a horn, metaphorically for blowing one's own horn) + を吹く (to blow). The phrase literally means 'to blow a big conch shell', figuratively 'to tell big lies'.