Meaning of Idiom ‘Bring Home the Bacon’
1. To bring home the bacon means to earn money to feed and shelter one’s family; to be a breadwinner; to earn a living; to provide the necessities of daily living. 1Jarvie, Gordon. Bloomsbury Dictionary of Idioms. London: Bloomsbury, 2009.,2Brenner, Gail. Webster’s New World American Idioms Handbook. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.,3Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.
2. To complete a job or task successfully or to accomplish something of value; to win the prize. 4Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.,5Jarvie, Gordon. Bloomsbury Dictionary of Idioms. London: Bloomsbury, 2009.
Examples Of Use
“I know you don’t like it when I work such long hours but someone has to bring home the bacon.”
“Passing this huge bill was a long shot but the team worked through the weekend and reached an agreement. We are poised to bring home the bacon for our constituents.”
“I don’t care about all your past accomplishments. You have to bring home the bacon to work here.”
“My mom worked hard to bring home the bacon for three growing boys.”
Origin
Used since at least the mid-1800s.
This idiom may have come from an old competition at country fairs, in which people competed to catch a greased pig. The person who caught the pig was awarded the pig as a prize, thus ‘bringing home the bacon.’
