What does 食いあさる / 食い漁る mean?


I have looked all over the internet and I cannot find a decent definition for
the word 食いあさる / 食い漁る.

For context, here is a scene in a manga where it is used. Character A (female)
is rummaging through food at an open buffet (both to eat and to take home),
when they are approached by Character B (female) and the conversation turns to
borrowing money.

B: あんた こっちに来てから散々 私を頼ってきてたじゃないの  
A: それは昔の話！ 今のボクは 親友の懐{ふところ}を食いあさったりしないよっ！  
B: タダ飯は食いあさってたようだけど  
A: うっ

I get that Character B is making some sort of pun along the lines of,
rummaging through a friend's money <=> rummaging through an open buffet, but I
am not sure if my understanding is correct.

The best definition I can find is the fourth definition for あさる:

④ 動詞の連用形に付いて，その動作をあちこちでする，してまわるの意を表す。「買い―・る」「読み―・る」

But does「親友の懐{ふところ}をあちこちで食う／食ってまわる」even make sense? Any help in explaining the
meaning of 食いあさる would be greatly appreciated!




You're basically seeing the correct definition of this 漁る, but a certain
nuance is missing from that definition.

～漁る can be added to a few verbs to form compound verbs. While it certainly has
a meaning of "going around", such as in "shop around", it also carries a
nuance like "acting like a beast in search of something". For example, both
買って回る and 買いあさる are correct verb usages, but the former simply means shopping
at various places, whereas the latter has a connotation of acting on greedy
desires when shopping.

The same applies to 懐を食い漁る ("to greedily go through someone's pocket/wallet").
Here, 漁る is used to emphasize greediness, and the meaning of "moving around"
is not important. Of course, you can't literally eat a wallet, and the
expression 懐を食う isn't generally common either, but this is a simple metaphor
you should be able to understand easily.




You're basically seeing the correct definition of this 漁る, but a certain
nuance is missing from that definition.

～漁る can be added to a few verbs to form compound verbs. While it certainly has
a meaning of "going around", such as in "shop around", it also carries a
nuance like "acting like a beast in search of something". For example, both
買って回る and 買いあさる are correct verb usages, but the former simply means shopping
at various places, whereas the latter has a connotation of acting on greedy
desires when shopping.

The same applies to 懐を食い漁る ("to greedily go through someone's pocket/wallet").
Here, 漁る is used to emphasize greediness, and the meaning of "moving around"
is not important. Of course, you can't literally eat a wallet, and the
expression 懐を食う isn't generally common either, but this is a simple metaphor
you should be able to understand easily.

