木で鼻を括る

• 読み: きではなをくくる
• ローマ字: ki de hana wo kukuru
• 漢字の分解: 木 (ki/moku) — wood, tree; 鼻 (hana/bi) — nose; 括 (katsu/kuku) — to fasten, tie, wipe
• 発音: /ki.de.ha.na.o.kɯ.kɯ.ɾɯ/

意味

To respond in a blunt, curt, or coldly dismissive manner. Describes someone who treats a genuine request or approach with indifferent contempt.

An idiomatic expression describing a person who responds to others in an offhand, dry, or dismissive way — as if wiping a nose with a rough stick instead of soft cloth. Used to criticise someone who is unhelpfully cold or unaccommodating when consideration is expected. Appears in literary prose and formal speech rather than casual everyday use.

例文

1. せっかく相談したのに、木で鼻を括ったような返事しか返ってこなかった。
2. 上司は木で鼻を括る態度で、部下の提案をすべて却下した。
3. 木で鼻を括ったような接客では、客が離れていくのも当然だ。

使い方ガイド

場面: communication, criticism, manner

トーン: critical

起源と歴史

A classical Japanese idiom from the Edo period. Using a rough stick (木) to wipe one's nose (鼻) instead of a soft cloth represents the most dismissive, contemptuous response. The image conveys cold indifference through deliberately inadequate means.

文化的背景

時代: Edo

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Universal