吃皇粮

lit. to eat from government coffers / to serve as a government employee / to live off government money

to eat / to consume / to eat at (a cafeteria etc) / to eradicate / to destroy / to absorb / to suffer / to stammer (Taiwan pr. for this sense is [ji2])

variant of 吃[chi1]

emperor / old variant of 惶[huang2]

lit. imperial funding for troops / funds or items supplied by the government

grain / food / provisions / agricultural tax paid in grain