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待ちぼうけを食う (まちぼうけをくう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
expression, godan verb (-u)
wait in vain ; be stood up ; wait only to be disappointed
Idiomatic expression for waiting for someone or something that never comes, often with a sense of frustration or wasted time. The verb 食う adds a rough, colloquial tone.
See also: 待ちぼうけ
約やく 束そく の 時じ 間かん に 誰だれ も 来こ なく て 、 待ま ちぼうけ を 食く わさ れ た 。
Nobody came at the promised time, and I was left waiting in vain.
Similar words 待ま ちぼうけ 待ちぼうけ is the noun meaning 'waiting in vain' or 'being stood up'. 待ちぼうけを食う is the verbal phrase using the colloquial verb 食う.
すっぽかされる すっぽかされる means 'to be stood up' or 'to be blown off', focusing on the other person's action. 待ちぼうけを食う focuses on the experience of waiting fruitlessly.
Etymology 待ちぼうけ (waiting in vain) + を + 食う (to eat, here used idiomatically to mean 'to experience something unpleasant'). The exact origin of ぼうけ is uncertain, but it may be related to ほうける (to be absorbed in) or a sound change from 待ちぼうけ (waiting idly).
