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【No. 1041】Imoppoi (いもっぽい - Countrified)

Oct 24, 2017 10:01
When I watch TV shows or the Internet, I sometimes hear the term "imoppoi" (いもっぽい) or "imokusai" (いも臭い).

The "imo" means "potato," and the literal meanings of "imoppoi" and "imokusai" are "it's like a potato" and "it smells like potatoes," respectively.

Both of them are used as insults, and they actually mean "it's countrified" or "it's dowdy."
(These days they are also used to mean just "it's not cool.")

It's thought that these terms were born by imagining foul potatoes in the soil.

They're sometimes used like "imoi" (いもい) for short.

Incidentally, in video games or something, you can hear the verb form "imoru" (いもる), which means to withdraw into his/her own territory and do nothing.
いもっぽい

インターネットやテレビを見ていると、たまに「いもっぽい」や「いも臭い」という言葉を見かけます。

「いも」は「芋」のことで、「いもっぽい」は「芋のようだ」、「いも臭い」は「芋の臭いがする」という意味になります。

どちらも悪口として利用され、実際には「田舎くさい」や「野暮ったい」という意味で使用されます。
(最近では単に「かっこ悪い」のような意味でも使われます。)

これら言葉は、地面に埋まり土にまみれた芋を連想して生まれた言葉だと考えられます。

省略して「いもい」のように使われることもあります。

ちなみに、対戦ゲームなどで自陣に引きこもることを「いもる」と言ったりもします。

Corrections (1)

No. 1 mrwyrd
  • It's thought that these terms were born by imagining foul potatoes in the soil.
  • It's thought that these terms came from imagining foul potatoes in the soil.

Excellent!

Toru
Thank you so much for the correction! :)

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