The only 達磨 I'm familiar with is daruma dolls, however I've seen/heard this
used in a descriptive sense in anime and novels.

I can recall seeing a character using it in a novel for example, I don't
remember the exact Japanese but she was scolding her colleague in a restaurant
saying "hurry up and finish the dishes you hairy daruma!" (Her colleague has
wild hair and a funny looking goatee.) Or in another book where the author
wrote "筋肉達磨になった男" in reference to a man who had become stupidly muscular.

So what sort of meaning is it supposed to take on in contexts like that? Is
there some metaphorical meaning?
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2018-03-03T23:05:32.633
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2018-03-04T02:48:59.843
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question
meaning
What sort of meaning does the word "達磨" take on when it's used in a descriptive sense?
(I always write 「だるま」 in kana, so that is what I am going to do here, too.)

Used in the contexts described by you, 「だるま」 simply means a "guy" or "person".
The metaphorical usage of the term is usually well-intended as the だるま itself
is an item of good omen to begin with. A humor factor is generally there as
well. All in all, it helps make a fun and animated expression.

When I had a full beard several years ago, I was called ヒゲだるま by a few people
around me. It made me smile each time, too. It would not have made me smile if
someone had called me ヒゲじじい, for instance, instead.

I assure you, though, that 「〇〇だるま」 is **_not_** a phrase pattern you would use
on a daily basis. It would easily lose its charm if you overused it.
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2018-03-04T01:35:12.847
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answer