KW05 Proverb Line
ぶしはくわねどたかようじ
武士は食わねど高楊枝
Bushihakuwanedotakayōji
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Meaning
a samurai picks his teeth unfed
Keeping one's pride and not behaving shamefully even when poor. Today it is also often used teasingly for putting on a brave face while struggling.
Example
給料日前で金がないのに後輩の分まで払うのは、武士は食わねど高楊枝だ。
Paying for your juniors as well when you are broke before payday is pure samurai pride.
Origin
From the image of a samurai who, even with nothing to eat, leisurely uses a toothpick as if he had eaten his fill. The older form began with samurai wa, and bushi wa became the main form from the mid-Edo period on. Given the hard lives of lower-ranking samurai, it can also be read as townspeople's sarcasm aimed at samurai.