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I was reading [an article on
ohtabooks.com](http://www.ohtabooks.com/qjkettle/news/2015/02/16101614.html)
which had the following sentence:

> 英単語を覚えるため、1ページごと辞書を **食べた**

To me, this looks like:

> To learn English words, I **ate** a dictionary page-by-page.

Usually, 食べる means 'eat'. But that seems silly here!

Is this a figurative use of 食べる? I think it is, but I'm not sure what it means
specifically. In English, people sometimes talk figuratively about 'devouring'
a book, meaning they read through the book very quickly, often in one sitting.
But I'm not sure that's quite the same meaning intended by 食べる here.

Or could it be that it's _supposed_ to be amusing? (I got the impression it
was supposed to be serious.)

### Can someone explain how 食べる is used here?
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2015-09-13T23:21:07.810
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2015-09-13T23:35:02.923
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question
word-usage
To learn English vocabulary, I ate a dictionary page-by-page
From an Amazon [book
review](http://www.amazon.co.jp/review/R2LPK2B54YDXWI/ref=cm_cr_dp_title/376-9069893-0696427?ie=UTF8&ASIN=4040219007&channel=detail-
glance&nodeID=465392&store=books):

> 英語の単語を覚えるための奇行の一つとして語り継がれる伝説の一つに、 「覚えるためにとにかく辞書のページを片っ端から食べた」
> というのがあります。（少なくとも、そんな冗談を私は聞いた）

From an OKWave [answer](http://okwave.jp/qa/q7664819/a21292897.html) to the
question 「英単語は辞書を破って食べると覚えられるのでしょうか」:

> 戦前の旧制高校（今の大学、一部では旧制中学でも）の学生の間で言われた事で、 法螺混じりの当時の学生のバンカラ気質を表した戯言です。
> 本は当時は高い物で、特に辞書は高価でした。 それでも俺はこんなに凄いんだぞ、そして英語をマスターしたんだぞと言う法螺話です。

So 食べる seems to literally mean _eat_ , as in this silly urban legend.
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answer