last part of a poem or Bible verse
Refers to the latter half of a poem, especially in linked verse (renga) or the second half of a tanka, or the latter part of a Bible verse. Often contrasted with 上の句 (かみのく).
See also: 下の句
百人一首の下句を聞いて、上の句を思い出す。
Hearing the last part of a Hyakunin Isshu poem, I recall the first part.
この聖句の下句は特に有名だ。
The latter part of this Bible verse is especially famous.
Compound of 下 (しも, 'lower') and 句 (く, 'phrase, verse'). The reading しもく is a straightforward combination of the two characters' readings.