88 years old
Used as a playful or auspicious way to refer to the age of 88, based on the decomposition of the kanji 米 into 八十八 (eighty-eight). Often seen in contexts like longevity celebrations.
My grandfather celebrated his 88th birthday, turning 88 like the character 米.
Archaic reading for 'rice'. In modern Japanese, 米 is read as こめ for the meaning 'rice'. This reading よね is no longer used for that meaning.
See also: 米 (こめ)
In old language, 米 was read as よね to mean rice, but today こめ is common.
Yonezawa beef
The reading よね is an older native Japanese word for rice, now largely replaced by こめ. The age-related sense derives from the graphical decomposition of the kanji 米 into 八十八 (eighty-eight).