I was at a loss when I was asked by my friend how to translate a Japanese expression, “oujogiwa ga warui – 往生際が悪い,” which literally means “die in wrong (disgraceful) manner” into English. The phrase is applied to someone who doesn’t concede his or her wrong-doing, failure, loss of game, or defeat, even though they are very obvious to others. Conversely, “往生際がよい – Oujougiwaga yoi” means to act fairly and bow out gracefully from the stage.
Google Translation gave “bad birth.” Kenkyusha’s Japanese-English Dictionary 5th Ed. gave “the moment of death,” the same Kenkyusha’s “New College Japanese-English Dictionary, 5th Edition gave “Do not know when quit or admit one is wrong.” as a translation of “往生際(が悪い). None of them seemed to be the one I was seeking for.
Are there similar expressions in English?
Best Answer
I would suggest the person is a poor (or sore, or bad) loser
For example, here's a recent usage regarding the American presidential election:
(Special note: In Japanese the phrase doesn't mean "death" but "brink of death," and the usage has been extended metaphorically; the reference to "death" here has no more literal application than does "skinning a cat" have in the phrase "more than one way to skin a cat." See 往生際.)