おまんまの食くい上あげ

Meanings

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.

会かい社しゃが倒とう産さんして、おまんまの食くい上あげになった。
The company went bankrupt, and I lost my livelihood.
この仕し事ごとを失うしなったらおまんまの食くい上あげだ。
If I lose this job, I'll be out on the street.

See all 3 example sentences ›

Kanji

食eat, food
上above, up
飯meal, boiled rice

Related words

食くい扶ぶ持ち
食い扶持 also means 'livelihood' or 'means of living', but is a more neutral noun without the colloquial, dramatic tone of おまんまの食い上げ.
路ろ頭とうに迷まよう
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.

Written forms

おまんまの食くい上あげ
Standard kana-kanji mixed spelling; おまんま is a colloquial term for food/meal.
お飯まんまの食くい上あげ
Kanji spelling for まんま; less common and may be seen as nonstandard.

Etymology

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.