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A term which you might hear regularly in spoken or written English is ‘bring home the bacon.’ It is a phrase which is commonly used but are we aware of where it came from? Let’s take a look into the history of this phrase and how it can be used.
Bring Home the Bacon Meaning, Origin and Usage
Key Takeaways
- “Bring home the bacon” means to earn money or provide financial support for a household. It can also refer to achieving success or accomplishing something important.
Bring Home the Bacon Meaning
“Bring home the bacon” is an idiom that means to earn money or provide financial support for a household. It refers to someone being the breadwinner or making a living to support themselves or their family. The phrase can also be used more generally to describe success or accomplishing something important.
Origin of this Idiomatic Expression
This phrase has its roots in the days where the church would give people who had successful marriages, an award of bacon. This practice dates all the way back to the 1100s, so this is a saying which has stood the test of time. There are also stories that the phrase came from the early 1900s when a boxer was asked by his mother to bring home some bacon, after he won a big fight, he brought home not only the bacon ‘but the gravy as well.’
Usage of “Bringing Home the Bacon”
Here are some examples of how “bring home the bacon” is used in sentences:
- In a financial context:
- “She works two jobs to bring home the bacon and support her family.”
- In a competitive situation:
- “Our team trained hard all season, and we finally brought home the bacon by winning the championship.”
- In a general success scenario:
- “He closed the big deal and brought home the bacon for the company.”
- In a family context:
- “Now that she’s started her new job, she’s the one bringing home the bacon.”
Related Terms to “Bringing Home the Bacon”
- Make a living – Refers to earning enough money to support oneself or one’s family.
- Breadwinner – The person who earns the main income in a household.
- Earn a paycheck – Refers to working to receive wages.
- Pull in – Slang for earning money, often in substantial amounts.
- Support the family – Means providing financial or other types of assistance to a household.
- Rake in – Refers to making a lot of money, often easily or quickly.
- Put food on the table – A phrase symbolizing earning enough money to provide basic necessities, especially food.
- Bring in the dough – Informal way of referring to earning money.
- Hit the jackpot – Refers to achieving great success or making a lot of money, often unexpectedly.
- Make ends meet – Refers to earning just enough money to cover basic living expenses.
Other Ways to Say the Phrase
There are many other ways in which you could express the meaning of the idiomatic term ‘bringing home the bacon.’ Some of these might include the following.
- The bread winner
- Earning a crust
- Putting food on the table
“Bringing Home the Bacon” Examples
Example Sentences
You could use this phrase when referring to going out to work in order to provide for your family.
- ‘Right, I’m off out to bring home the bacon.’
The phrase is also quite commonly used when describing the main wage earner of a household.
- ‘Geoff is the one who brings home the bacon.’
Other examples:
- That was the motivation to bring home the bacon.
- Someone has to bring home the bacon in the family.
- I have to go to work, you know. I must bring home the bacon.
- Most men who bring home the bacon five days a week relax over the weekend.
Conversation Examples
There are many situations in which you might hear the term ‘bringing home the bacon.’ Some of those conversations might sound a little like the following examples.
Conversation 1:
- Person 1: “Where is Stephen today?”
- Person 2: “He’s off out bringing home the bacon.”
Conversation 2:
- Person 1: “Well, after six years staying at home looking after my children, I now have to find a job.”
- Person 2: “Yes, well you do need to bring home the bacon one way or another.”
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