糟そう糠こう

noun

chaff and bran; plain food

Literally refers to poor-quality food made from chaff and bran; often used in the set phrase 糟糠の妻 (a wife who has shared hardships).

See also: 糟糠の妻

• 糟そう糠こうの妻つまは、貧まずしい時じ代だいを共ともにしたかけがえのない存そん在ざいだ。

  A wife who has shared hardships is an irreplaceable companion from poorer times.

• 糟そう糠こうの食しょくをとるような暮くらしだった。

  We lived on plain food like chaff and bran.

noun

worthless thing; trifle

Archaic figurative use; something as worthless as chaff and bran. Rare in modern Japanese outside classical contexts.

• 古ふるい文ぶん献けんでは、糟そう糠こうを軽かろんじる表ひょう現げんが見みられる。

  In old texts, expressions that treat worthless things as chaff and bran can be found.