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威張り腐る (いばりくさる) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

威い張ばり腐くさる

い

ば

り

く

さ

る

Meanings

1

godan verb (-ru)

throw one's weight around; act high and mighty; be puffed up

Pejorative compound of 威張る (to be bossy) and 腐る (to rot), implying an obnoxious, overbearing attitude. Stronger and more contemptuous than 威張る alone.

あいつは課か長ちょうになった途と端たんに威い張ばり腐くさって、みんなに嫌きらわれている。
As soon as he became section chief, he started throwing his weight around and now everyone hates him.

威い張ばり腐くさった態たい度どを取とるな。

Don't act so high and mighty.

Kanji

威intimidate, dignity, majesty
張counter for bows & stringed instruments, stretch, spread
腐rot, decay, sour

Similar words

威い張ばる
威張る means 'to be bossy' or 'to act important'; 威張り腐る is a stronger, more contemptuous version implying an obnoxious, rotten attitude.
ふんぞり返かえる
ふんぞり返る describes a physically arrogant posture (leaning back) and by extension an overbearing attitude, while 威張り腐る focuses on the obnoxious behavior itself.

Written forms

威い張ばり腐くさる
Standard kanji spelling; 腐る adds a pejorative sense of 'stinking of'.
威い張ばりくさる
Mixed kana spelling; common in casual writing.

Etymology

Compound of 威張る (いばる, 'to be bossy') and 腐る (くさる, 'to rot'). The suffix 腐る adds a pejorative sense, implying that the person's arrogance is rotten or stinking.