苦にが虫むし

noun

bitter-tasting bug; imaginary bug that tastes bitter

Refers to an imaginary insect with a bitter taste. Almost exclusively used in the set phrase 苦虫を噛み潰したよう (like biting a bitter bug), describing a sour, disgusted, or grimacing facial expression. The word itself is rarely used outside this idiom.

See also: 苦虫を噛み潰したよう (にがむしをかみつぶしたよう)

• 彼かれは苦にが虫むしを噛かみ潰つぶしたような顔かおで、その知しらせを聞きいた。

  He heard the news with a look on his face as if he had bitten into a bitter bug.

• 「苦にが虫むし」という言こと葉ばは、実じっ際さいの虫むしではなく、苦にがい味あじのする想そう像ぞう上じょうの虫むしを指さす。

  The word 苦虫 refers not to a real insect but to an imaginary bug that tastes bitter.