追(お)いはぎ

おいはぎ
noun
highway robber; mugger
lawhistory
1. highway robber; highwayman; mugger
A person who robs travelers on the road, historically by stripping them of their clothing and belongings. In modern usage, can refer more generally to mugging or robbery.
昔(むかし)はこの街道(かいどう)に追(お)いはぎが出(で)た。
In the old days, highway robbers appeared on this road.
追(お)いはぎに遭(あ)って身(み)ぐるみ剥(は)がされた。
I was robbed by a mugger and stripped of everything.
この料金(りょうきん)は追(お)いはぎのようなものだと文句(もんく)を言(い)った。
He complained that the charge was highway robbery.

From 追(お)い剥(は)ぎ, literally "chasing and stripping": bandits who waylaid travelers and stripped them of their clothes and belongings.

Common collocations

  • 追(お)いはぎに遭(あ)う: to be robbed by a highwayman
  • 追(お)いはぎが出(で)る: highway robbers appear
  • 追(お)いはぎのような: like highway robbery (figurative)

Usage

Mostly historical. It can be used in comparisons for an outrageous charge (追(お)いはぎのような値段(ねだん)), but the everyday word for a rip-off is ぼったくり.

Cultural note

In the Edo period 追(お)いはぎ were a real danger on the highways between towns, and they are stock characters in period dramas (時代劇(じだいげき)).

general
Added 2026.4.4 7:13 · Revised 2026.10.13 22:40
21500/21943_oihagi