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赤子の手をひねる (あかごのてをひねる) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

赤あか子ごの手てをひねる

also: あかごのてをねじる

Meanings

1

expression, godan verb (-ru)

to take candy from a baby; to accomplish something with ease

idiomatic expression

Idiomatic expression meaning something is extremely easy to do. The literal image is 'twisting a baby's arm', but it is used figuratively. Often used in the negative or rhetorical form to emphasize ease.

See also: 赤子の腕をひねる

そんなの赤あか子ごの手てをひねるようなものだよ。
That's as easy as taking candy from a baby.

彼かれにとっては赤あか子ごの手てをひねるほど簡かん単たんなことだった。

For him, it was as easy as pie.

Written forms

赤あか子ごの手てをひねる
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling with the common reading ひねる.
赤子の手を捻る
- あかごのてをひねる
  Kanji spelling using 捻る; also readable as ねじる.
- あかごのてをねじる
赤あか子ごの手てをねじる
Kana spelling for the ねじる reading; less common than ひねる.
あかごのてをねじる

Kanji

赤red
子child, sign of the rat, 11PM-1AM
手hand
捻twirl, twist, play with

Similar words

赤あか子ごの腕うでをひねる
Variant using 腕 (arm) instead of 手 (hand); essentially the same meaning and usage.

Etymology

The phrase literally means 'to twist a baby's hand/arm', implying an action that requires no effort. The figurative meaning 'extremely easy' is derived from this image. The exact origin is uncertain, but it is a well-established idiom.