Logical explanation for '高を括る'? phrase


Just came across this phrase and upon breaking it down it looked like it would
have the opposite meaning to what it really has (高を括る-to make light of). Have
I missed something and there's actually a good explanation for this phrase? My
first thought was that it would mean 'to expect a lot' or something similar.




高【たか】 means "yield/amount/quantity" (e.g., of a crop). くくる means "to bind/tie"
and, by extension, "to summarize/consolidate". Thus, the literal meaning of
高をくくる is nothing more than something like "to estimate (the capability of
someone/something)" or "to assume". However, as an idiom, it has gained a
derived _implication_ of "to (wrongly) estimate/assume", and that's why "to
make light of something" is a valid translation. When it comes to idioms, you
cannot expect their literal meanings are preserved.




高【たか】 means "yield/amount/quantity" (e.g., of a crop). くくる means "to bind/tie"
and, by extension, "to summarize/consolidate". Thus, the literal meaning of
高をくくる is nothing more than something like "to estimate (the capability of
someone/something)" or "to assume". However, as an idiom, it has gained a
derived _implication_ of "to (wrongly) estimate/assume", and that's why "to
make light of something" is a valid translation. When it comes to idioms, you
cannot expect their literal meanings are preserved.

