bring home the bacon

bring home the bacon

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

bring home the bacon (third-person singular simple present brings home the bacon, present participle bringing home the bacon, simple past and past participle brought home the bacon)

1. To win or succeed.
   • 1924, P.G. Wodehouse, The World of Ukbridge:

     I am going to do my bit, Corky, and it may be that my bit will turn out to be just the trifle that brings home the bacon.

   • 2002, Joseph Andre Ryan, The Tely 10: A History of Newfoundland's Premier Road Race, 1922-2000:

     Brown had pushed the champion very hard for first place the previous year, and to many of his supporters, this year he could "bring home the bacon".

2. (idiomatic) To have employment which provides remuneration to satisfy the basic needs of oneself and one's family.
   • 2005, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul:

     It's just that I think I'm going to lose my job at the studio and am damned scared of not being able to bring home the bacon.

   • 2008, November 22, In Alaska, Stevens' long reign is over, Los Angeles Times:

     No one brought home the bacon better than Stevens.

   • 2009 October 21, Stuart Jeffries, “Why don't more dads work part-time?”, in The Guardian:

     I have to say I like being the man, bringing home the bacon.

Synonyms

• (win): triumph, walk off with (the game or the prize)
• (have employment): earn a living, make a living, make ends meet, pay the bills, pay the rent, put food on the table

Translations

to make a living

Arabic: please add this translation if you can Armenian: ապրուստ վաստակել (aprust vastakel) Chinese: Mandarin: (earn enough money to support one's family) 掙錢養家, 挣钱养家 (zhèngqián yǎngjiā), (earn a living) 謀生／谋生 (zh) (móushēng) Czech: please add this translation if you can Dutch: zijn eigen broek ophouden Finnish: tienata (fi) French: gagner sa vie (fr), faire bouillir la marmite (fr), mettre du pain sur la table, faire bouillir la popotte German: sich seinen Lebensunterhalt verdienen (sich in dative case) Hindi: please add this translation if you can Italian: portare a casa il pane, mettere la pagnotta sul tavolo Japanese: 生計を立てる (せいけいをたてる, seikei o tateru), 食べていく (tabete iku) Korean: please add this translation if you can Polish: przynosić mamuta do domu Portuguese: chegar ao fim do mês Russian: зараба́тывать на жизнь impf (zarabátyvatʹ na žiznʹ), зарабо́тать на жизнь pf (zarabótatʹ na žiznʹ) Spanish: ganarse la vida (es), traer el pan a casa Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

See also

• keep the home fires burning
• keep the lights on
• keep the wolf from the door