Japanese with Manga

Neglecting one's work with

油(あぶら)を売(う)る means wasting time when you should be working. It often describes dawdling, chatting, or doing something unrelated to the job.

In English, “loafing around” has a similar meaning.

Literal Meaning

The literal translation is “selling oil”. The expression is believed to derive from the Edo period (1603–1867), where oil merchants would sometimes engage in lengthy small talk with women while selling oil to them.

Further Reading

Examples

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Free time to be loafing around with 油を売る

Idiom Explanation: Neglecting one's work with 油を売る (Future entry)

Learn the meaning and usage of the idiom 油を売る in Japanese, with examples from manga.
美少女戦士セーラームーン » Volume 3 » Page 273

Rubeus finds Esmeraude spying on Prince Demande.

ルベウス:
「エスメロード　こんな所(ところ)で油(あぶら)を売(う)ってるヒマはあるのか？」
“Esmeraude, do you have time to be loafing around in such a place?”