I often see 手{て}
, hand, used in a metaphorical sense to mean something along the lines of effort or presence... but I'm not totally sure.
For example, consider this sentence:
手を[抜]{ぬ}いて仕事{しごと}をしていたら、部長{ぶちょう}に怒{おこ}られた。
手{て}を抜{ぬ}く
appears to be a set phrase, meaning, "to slack off."
However, I'm trying to get at exactly what the 手{て}
refers to. When I first read this sentence, I thought that if one pulled one's "hand" out, then one simply wasn't doing the work.
What it seems to mean instead, though, is that one is still going to do the work, but not put in an effort.
Is it accurate to say, then, that 手{て}
, when used metaphorically, usually refers to "effort"? Would the sentence mean the same thing if it was written like this:
努力{どりょく}しなくて仕事{しごと}をしていたら、部長{ぶちょう}に怒{おこ}られた。