紙魚しみ

noun

silverfish; bristletail

Refers to small, wingless insects that feed on paper, starch, and fabric. Sense 1 is the broader taxonomic term; sense 2 specifies the common Oriental silverfish (Ctenolepisma villosa). In everyday use, しみ usually means the household pest.

• 古ふるい本ほんを開ひらいたら、しみが出でてきた。

  When I opened the old book, a silverfish came out.

• しみは紙かみや衣い類るいを食くい荒あらす害がい虫ちゅうだ。

  Silverfish are pests that eat paper and clothing.

noun

bookworm (derogatory); someone who can't apply what they read

Derogatory term for a person who reads a lot but cannot put the knowledge into practice. Often used in the set phrase 紙魚の虫 (しみのむし).

• 彼かれは紙魚しみの虫むしで、知ち識しきはあるが実じっ践せんが伴ともなわない。

  He's a bookworm who has knowledge but can't put it into practice.