目めこぼし

め

こ

ぼ

し

Meanings

1

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', transitive verb

connivance; overlooking; turning a blind eye

Refers to deliberately ignoring a mistake, fault, or rule violation, often out of favor or leniency. Commonly used in the phrase 目こぼしをする or 目こぼしをしてもらう.

上じょう司しは彼かれの遅ち刻こくに目めこぼしをした。
The boss turned a blind eye to his lateness.

あの先せん生せいはお気きに入いりの生せい徒とには目めこぼしをする。

That teacher overlooks things for his favorite students.

Written forms

目めこぼしUsage100%
Standard spelling; the second kanji is usually written in kana.
目め溢こぼし
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; it is rarely used.
目め零こぼし
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; it is rarely used.

Kanji

目eye, class, look
溢overflow, inundate, spill
零zero, spill, overflow

Similar words

見み逃のがす
見逃す means to overlook or miss something, often unintentionally or by letting it pass. 目こぼし implies a deliberate, often biased, act of ignoring a fault.
大おお目めに見みる
大目に見る means to tolerate or be lenient, similar to 目こぼし, but is a verb phrase. 目こぼし is a noun and often carries a nuance of favoritism.

Etymology

Compound of 目 (eye) and こぼし (spilling, from こぼす). Literally 'spilling from the eye', suggesting letting something slip from one's sight intentionally. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.