also: ムダめし · ムダメシ
noun
living idly; eating without working; being a freeloader
Often used in the phrase 無駄飯を食う (to eat the bread of idleness), implying one is not contributing while still consuming resources. Can be self-deprecating or critical.
仕事もしないで無駄飯を食うわけにはいかない。
I can't just sit around eating without working.
彼は会社で無駄飯を食っているだけだ。
He's just a freeloader at the company.
Ateji spelling using 徒 (futile/vain); rarely used.
Compound of 無駄 (waste, futility) and 飯 (meal, cooked rice). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the phrase 無駄飯を食う has been used idiomatically to mean 'to live idly' or 'to eat without working'.