battle of the bulge en · NOUN
Etymology
From a play on the Battle of the Bulge, a World War II engagement.
Meanings
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(humorous) An attempt to avert weight gain or obesity.
People don't exercise just to become more fit; they also do it to lessen stress, become sexier, improve their skin, and most of all, become thin. The battle of the bulge has become big business.
1984, Chase Revel, 184 Businesses Anyone Can Start and Make a Lot of Money, Bantam, →ISBN:Most people who are overweight at some point become engaged in the usually futile "battle of the bulge." There are thousands of diets, herbal formulas, metabolic stimulants, appetite suppressants, fat blockers, weight loss patches and other diet aids.
2008 June 25, Vesanto Melina, R. D., Brenda Davis, R.D., Becoming Vegetarian: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Vegetarian Diet, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 326:I interviewed world experts on hormones, introduced novel information about gender differences in fatness and how women can turn vulnerabilities into advantages in the battle of the bulge[…]
2015 March 17, Sara Szal Gottfried, M.D., The Hormone Reset Diet: Heal Your Metabolism to Lose Up to 15 Pounds in 21 Days, Harper Collins, →ISBN:Americans spend more than $33 billion a year on weight-loss products and services, but they are losing the “battle of the bulge.” Despite the great desire of Americans to be thinner, they have become more obese.
2002 January 13, Experts from Dole Food Experts from Dole Food Company, Experts from The Mayo Experts from The Mayo Clinic, Experts from UCLA Center for Experts from UCLA Center for H, Encyclopedia of Foods: A Guide to Healthy Nutrition, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 48:
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(humorous) An attempt to conceal one's erection.
The battle of the bulge was lost easily with the tight trousers I was wearing. Feeling practically naked, I feigned a touristy-like composure and turned directly peering out to sea, pretending to take in the view with my mounting erection pressed in against the wall.
2026 January 2, Kevin Foy, Seagulls Shadows on Slantyrock, Austin Macauley Publishers, →ISBN:I just went ahead and let her feel it and she didn't back away from the battle of the bulge, if you know what I mean.
2014 December 9, Jerry Brooks Speight, What Mattered Most: Volume One, AuthorHouse, →ISBN:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| battles of the bulge | Number=Plur | lexicographic |