長引く
ながびく · nagabiku · JLPT N2 · verb-godan
to drag on
🍬 長 (long) + 引く (pull) = pulled out long, so it drags on
引く means to pull or draw out. Put 長 (long) in front and the verb describes something that has been stretched out over a long period of time, like taffy pulled longer and longer.
引 — bow 弓 + vertical stroke 丨
A compound ideograph showing a bow 弓 with a vertical line 丨 representing the drawn bowstring. The original meaning was 'to draw a bow,' which extended to 'pull,' 'lead,' 'guide,' and 'cite.' The vertical stroke depicts the action of pulling the string back.