desperation; self-abandonment; recklessness out of despair
A state of not caring what happens because of despair or frustration; more emphatic than やけ. Often used in phrases like やけくそになる or やけくそで.
See also: やけ
After failing the exam, in desperation I threw everything away.
Nothing good comes from giving in to despair.
やけ means 'desperation' or 'recklessness from despair', but やけくそ is a stronger, more emphatic version often used in casual speech.
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms 自棄糞 and 焼糞 are rare.
Katakana spelling used for emphasis or in casual writing.
Rare kanji form; the characters suggest 'self-abandonment' and 'excrement'.
Rare kanji form; literally 'burning dung'.
The exact derivation is uncertain. It likely combines やけ (desperation) with くそ (excrement) as an intensifier, similar to other vulgar emphatic compounds in Japanese.