98727
Context: MC has been isekai'd to another world in unconscious state, where
nations are fighting for supremacy. A girl asked him to join her clan after
brought him back to her house, but MC declined her proposal because he's not
sure that he's ready to kill people (though he said that he understood that's
just the rule of nature in his world too - in order to survive basically you
have to kick people down).

Then the girl changed her proposal, asked him to become her husband, in
exchange she will provide him housing, food, clothes. MC is so baffled by
this, and this is his thought.

> 目が覚めてから、もう何度、度肝を抜かれただろう。あまりに肝を抜かれすぎて、お尻の穴から魂的な何かが漏れそうだ。  
>  (my guess but not sure: "How many times have I been taken aback since I
> woke up? I’d been so shocked that something soulful was about to leak out of
> my butthole. ???)

Appreciates if anyone can help me understand the author's intention here.

More context:

> Girl (seems to be the leader of her clan): 「衣食住を満たしてやる。その代わり───」  
>  MC:「代わりに？」  
>  Girl:「我の夫となれ」  
>  Mc:「…………………へ？」  
>  **目が覚めてから、もう何度、度肝を抜かれただろう。あまりに肝を抜かれすぎて、お尻の穴から魂的な何かが漏れそうだ。**  
>  MC:「お、夫と申しますと、それはつまり旦那様的なものというか、綺麗に言えば生涯の伴侶と言いますか、そういうもののことです？」
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-02-26T17:21:37.473
98721
2023-02-27T03:30:39.633
2023-02-27T02:15:29.350
9831
42363
question
meaning reading-comprehension japanese-to-english wordplay
Help understand this weird wordplay/metaphor: 「あまりに肝を抜かれすぎて、お尻の穴から魂的な何かが漏れそうだ。」
Your _literal_ translation seems already perfect.

It is a common metaphor that the soul is sucked out of a person who has been
astounded, frightened or exhausted to death. As you can see in [these
pictures](https://www.ac-
illust.com/main/search_result.php?word=%E9%AD%82%E3%81%8C%E6%8A%9C%E3%81%91%E3%82%8B)
whose descriptions contain `魂が抜ける`, the soul is usually drained through the
mouth, so 口から魂(的な何か)が漏れそうだ would have been a more normal way of emphasizing
MC's surprise. In your sentence, his soul is sucked out of his butthole
instead of his mouth, but this is a joke on the author's part. The basic
meaning remains the same.

Also, 度肝を抜かれる is an idiom meaning "to be astounded", and this 度肝 literally
means "liver". In the past, it is believed that the liver was the center of
one's spirit. So, although 度肝を抜かれる and 魂を抜かれる have different meanings in
modern Japanese, they are quite similar when you look at the etymology.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-02-27T03:25:04.120
98727
2023-02-27T03:30:39.633
2023-02-27T03:30:39.633
5010
5010
98721
answer