Ageashi o toru - Grabbing (or tripping up) a raised leg

Today's phrase is

揚げ足を取る　あげあしをとる　ageashi o toru

Literally the phrase means to catch or grab a raised leg. In actual use, it means the habit some people have of grabbing onto small mistakes made by another person, in speech or otherwise, and correcting them - a nitpicker. The 'catch or grab a raised leg' thing comes from sumo or judo, where a combatant can catch hold of, or trip up, the raised leg of his opponent (considered to be a mistake) to bring him down. For example, a person who is always correcting another person's grammar, typos, or spelling mistakes, is a chronic and often annoying 揚げ足取り　あげあしとり　ageashi tori (the noun form of 揚げ足を取る).

The most widespread type of 揚げ足取り　is a micromanager, who grabs onto any small mistakes made by someone below him/her in rank and dwells on it. I've worked for such people a couple of times, and they were absolutely hell to deal with. There's even a whole book about managers like this, and how to deal with them:

なぜ上司は部下の揚げ足をとるのか　なぜじょうしはぶかのあげあしをとるのか　naze joushi wa buka no ageashi o torunoka - Why do managers nitpick/try to trip up subordinates?

So, if you encounter someone who is always correcting you for small mistakes, you can yell at them, 揚げ足を取らないでよ！　あげあしをとらないでよ！　ageashi o toranai deyo! - Stop nitpicking me/trying to trip me up!

Comments

[Matt]

なぜ上司は部下の揚げ足をとるのか

I'm curious about the 部下の. What does the の indicate? Is it something specific to 揚げ足をとる idiom? I've just not run across this use of it (although I'm by no means a scholar - just an interested hobbiest).

Thanks for the blog. Its a great way to study without feeling like study. :D

[yoko]

I wish I had that phrase handy when I was a kid and my parents nitpicked me! :P

Coincidentally, I just posted about an English expression on feet and how I thought it relates to aikido. (http://balladofyoko.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/got-caught/)

[デボン]

This was a really interesting word to learn! I suspect it's one of those words I'll hear in the far future and be surprised that I understand the meaning behind it, thanks!

[maki]

@Matt: the の　is possessive. So 部下の　is '(the) subordinate's' .

[Matt]

@Maki, I get it now. I was just being dumb. I was thinking of the whole idiom as the verb and not as a phrase. So literally, this would read "why do managers grab the subordinates' raised legs?" Makes sense. Thanks for tolerating my stupid question!