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Keep the badger in food.

English translation: Just enough to feed the badger

23:41 Jun 28, 2003
English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary
English term or phrase: Keep the badger in food.
Martin Clunes: I have never had that kind of blind… ambition of just I must get ahead and you know be successful, but… I mean I, I am self employed so I have to keep working. Keep the badger in food.

Is it an idiom?
He might be referring to the badger, which dug up all his parsnips, he was talking about a few minutes earlier.
lim0nka
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:15
Selected answer:Just enough to feed the badger
Explanation:
He's being sarcastic. It's like "I've got to make enough to feed my cockroaches"

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Note added at 2003-06-29 00:11:11 (GMT)
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You\'re right, he\'s joking about the badger that\'s eating his garden. It\'s not an idiom.
Selected response from:

William Stein
Costa Rica
Local time: 06:15
Grading comment
Thank you very much!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +9Just enough to feed the badger
William Stein
4 +5no such idiom exists!
Transflux (X)


  

Answers


1 min   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +9
Just enough to feed the badger


Explanation:
He's being sarcastic. It's like "I've got to make enough to feed my cockroaches"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-06-29 00:11:11 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You\'re right, he\'s joking about the badger that\'s eating his garden. It\'s not an idiom.

William Stein
Costa Rica
Local time: 06:15
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 36
Grading comment
Thank you very much!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Özden Arıkan: his sarcasm sounds as if, "gotta work, i've a badger to look after"
10 mins
  -> Exactly.
agree  Dylan Edwards: Yes, it's an idiom. Another example: "The money should keep him in cigarettes for a week."
22 mins
agree  Catherine Norton: He is being sarcastic. To keep someone "in" food is to keep them supplied with food.
1 hr
agree  Becky Spangle
1 hr
agree  Сергей Лузан: It's not an idiom.
7 hrs
agree  pcovs
7 hrs
agree  airmailrpl
10 hrs
agree  Alexandra Tussing
18 hrs
agree  J. Leo (X)
3 days 10 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

21 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
no such idiom exists!


Explanation:
Martin Clunes made this one up. I guess he means, "I have to keep going if only for the badger's sake". He is diverting attention from the obvious of saying that he works to keep himself going. That is how I read it anyway.

Transflux (X)
Local time: 14:15
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Michael Powers (PhD): I agree - it is not an idiom. I did a search on Google and it didn't show up once.
21 mins
agree  Сергей Лузан: It's not an idiom.
6 hrs
agree  Dylan Edwards: He's keeping the wolf from the door, I suppose. All right, I agree that the asker's phrase as a whole is not an idiom, I'd just say that "keep... in..." is idiomatic.
8 hrs
  -> yes absolutely! Good point
agree  Jana Teteris
9 hrs
agree  Alexandra Tussing: with Andeds
17 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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