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
Archaic figurative use; something as worthless as chaff and bran. Rare in modern Japanese outside classical contexts.
A wife who has shared hardships is an irreplaceable companion from poorer times.
We lived on plain food like chaff and bran.
In old texts, expressions that treat worthless things as chaff and bran can be found.
Standard kanji spelling; the characters literally mean 'dregs' and 'husks'.
From Chinese, literally 'dregs and husks'. The figurative meanings derive from the idea of poor-quality food and, by extension, something of little value.