eat someone out of house and home en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Appears in The Second Shepherds' Play by The Wakefield Master (1400-1450), later used by the English playwright William Shakespeare (1564 (baptised) – 1616) in his play Henry IV, Part 2 (c. 1596–1599): see the quotation.
Meanings
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(idiomatic) To consume so much of someone's store of food that little or none is left for the owner.
[H]e hath eaten me out of houſe and home, he hath put all my ſubſtance into that fat belly of his, but I will haue ſome of it out againe, or I will ride thee a nights like the mare.
c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henrie the Fourth, […], quarto edition, London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Andrew Wise, and William Aspley, published 1600, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| eating someone out of house and home | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| eats someone out of house and home | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| eaten someone out of house and home | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| ate someone out of house and home | Tense=Past | lexicographic |
Relateds
Translations (3)
hu kieszi a vagyonából (to consume so much of someone's store of food) · de die Haare vom Kopf fressen (to consume so much of someone's store of food) · de die Haare vom Kopf essen (to consume so much of someone's store of food)
wikipedia: William Shakespeare · wikipedia: The Wakefield Master · wikipedia: Henry IV, Part 2 · wikipedia: The Second Shepherds' Play