Conjugation 足止めを食う · godan verb (-u)
Form Positive Negative Dictionary 足あし 止ど めを 食く う 足あし 止ど めを 食く わない Polite 足あし 止ど めを 食く います 足あし 止ど めを 食く いません Past polite 足あし 止ど めを 食く いました 足あし 止ど めを 食く いませんでした Past 足あし 止ど めを 食く った 足あし 止ど めを 食く わなかった Te-form 足あし 止ど めを 食く って 足あし 止ど めを 食く わないで Desire 足あし 止ど めを 食く いたい 足あし 止ど めを 食く いたくない Potential 足あし 止ど めを 食く える 足あし 止ど めを 食く えない Passive 足あし 止ど めを 食く われる 足あし 止ど めを 食く われない Causative 足あし 止ど めを 食く わせる 足あし 止ど めを 食く わせない Causative passive 足あし 止ど めを 食く わせられる also 足あし 止ど めを 食く わされる 足あし 止ど めを 食く わせられない also 足あし 止ど めを 食く わされない Volitional 足あし 止ど めを 食く おう Polite volitional 足あし 止ど めを 食く いましょう Imperative 足あし 止ど めを 食く え 足あし 止ど めを 食く うな Conditional 足あし 止ど めを 食く えば 足あし 止ど めを 食く わなければ Tara conditional 足あし 止ど めを 食く ったら 足あし 止ど めを 食く わなかったら
Kanji 足 leg, foot, be sufficient Related words 立た ち 往おう 生じょう 立ち往生 means being stuck or stranded, often for vehicles or in a situation where one cannot move forward, but it is a noun/suru-verb and more formal. 足止めを食う is a colloquial expression focusing on the personal experience of being forced to stay.
缶かん 詰づめ 缶詰 literally means 'canned food', but idiomatically it can mean being confined or stuck somewhere for a long time. It is more metaphorical and often used for being cooped up indoors, while 足止めを食う specifically implies being prevented from traveling or leaving.
Written forms 足あし 止ど めを 食く う
Standard kanji spelling for this expression.
足あし 止ど めをくう
Kana spelling of the verb part; less common but still used.
足あし 留ど めを 食く う
Variant kanji for 止め ; rarely used.
足あし 留ど めをくう
Rare variant combining the less common kanji and kana verb.
Etymology The expression combines 足止め (ashidome, 'stopping someone from going; detention') with 食う (kuu, 'to eat' but here used in the sense of 'to receive something unpleasant'). The verb 食う in this context conveys the idea of suffering an undesirable situation, similar to expressions like 目に遭う (me ni au, 'to experience something bad').
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