骨抜(ほねぬ)き

ほねぬき
noun
boning (fish or meat); watering down; gutting
foodabstract
1. boning; removing the bones
Taking the bones out of a fish or piece of meat in preparation for cooking or eating.
魚(さかな)を骨抜(ほねぬ)きにする。
To bone a fish.
骨抜(ほねぬ)きの鶏肉(とりにく)を買(か)ってきた。
I bought some boneless chicken.
子供(こども)が食(た)べやすいように魚(さかな)を骨抜(ほねぬ)きにした。
I boned the fish so the children could eat it easily.
2. watering down; gutting (a plan or proposal)
Removing the essential or strongest content from a plan, bill, or proposal so that little of substance remains.
計画(けいかく)が骨抜(ほねぬ)きにされた。
The plan was gutted.
反対(はんたい)にあって法案(ほうあん)は骨抜(ほねぬ)きになった。
Faced with opposition, the bill was watered down.
当初(とうしょ)の改革案(かいかくあん)は議論(ぎろん)の過程(かてい)で骨抜(ほねぬ)きにされてしまった。
The original reform proposal ended up gutted in the course of debate.

Literally 'bone-pulling.' The figurative sense — removing the substance from a plan so only an empty shell remains — is the more common one in news and politics.

Common collocations

  • 骨抜(ほねぬ)きにする: to bone (fish); to gut (a proposal)
  • 骨抜(ほねぬ)きになる: to be watered down

Similar words

  • 形骸化(けいがいか): becoming a dead letter — a rule losing real force, but through neglect rather than deliberate cutting
  • なし崩(くず)し: gradual erosion — chipping away little by little

Related Words

Compare: 形骸化(けいがいか) (becoming a dead letter)
general
Added 2026.5.19 12:07 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
27500/27808_honenuki