불쏘시개

Korean

Etymology

불 (bul, “fire”) +‎ 쑤시− (ssusi−, “to poke”) +‎ 개 (-gae, “-er”, inanimate agentive suffix). The "book" sense comes from the idea that the book is so terrible it would be better used as kindling.

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [puɭs͈o̞ɕʰiɡɛ] ~ [puɭs͈o̞ɕʰiɡe̞]
Phonetic hangul: [불쏘시개/불쏘시게]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization^?	bulssosigae
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	bul'ssosigae
McCune–Reischauer^?	pulssosigae
Yale Romanization^?	pul.ssosikay

Noun

불쏘시개 • (bulssosigae)

kindling (twigs used to start a fire)
(figurative) spark, trigger, catalyst
(colloquial, derogatory) pot boiler book, low-quality book
막장 불쏘시개 ― makjang bulssosigae ― terrible book with a preposterous plot