feather one's nest en · VERB
Pronunciation
- audio AuE
- /ˈfeð.ə wɐnz ˌnɛst/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
- fĕth′ər wŭnz nĕst′
- /ˈfɛð.ə wʌnz ˌnɛst/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈfɛð.əɹ wʌnz ˌnɛst/ (Canada, General-American)
- /ˈfeð.ə wʌnz ˌnest/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈfɛ(ː)d̪.ɜː(ɾ)wənz ˌnɛ(ː)sʈ/ (India)
- /ˈfɛ(ː)d̪.əɾ wənz ˌnɛ(ː)sʈ/ (India)
- /ˈfɛð.ə(ɹ)wʌnz ˌnɛst/
- /ˈfɛð.əɾ wʌnz ˌnɛst/ (Scotland)
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) To achieve benefits, especially financial ones, by taking advantage of the opportunities with which one is presented; to amass a comfortable amount of personal wealth; especially, to do so to a degree that involves venality (e.g., insider trading, police corruption).
But it would be very unjust to think of all the Railway Members as speculators and simply out to feather their own nests, not that it is fair to think of George Hudson in this light alone.
1960 March 14, N. Caplan, “The Railway Member of Parliament”, in Railway Magazine, page 207:It may do him some harm, perhaps, but Dempster must have feathered his nest pretty well; he can afford to lose a little business.
1857, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “[Janet’s Repentance.] Chapter 13”, in Scenes of Clerical Life […], volume II, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, published January 1858, →OCLC, page 229:“It's a handful of west coast financiers doing what Wall Street bankers have long done—feathering their nests,” says Michael Moritz, the billionaire former leader of Sequoia Capital.
2024 July 20, Tabby Kinder, George Hammond, Hannah Murphy, Alex Rogers, quoting Michael Moritz, “Has Silicon Valley gone Maga?”, in FT Weekend (Big Read section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 6:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| feathering one's nest | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| feathered one's nest | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| feathered one's nest | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| feathers one's nest | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| feather one's own nest | alternative | lexicographic |
Hypernyms
Relateds
every man for himself · nest egg · featherbed
Synonyms
look out for number one · line one's pockets
Translations (10)
is ota sínum tota (to achieve benefits, especially financial ones) · wa s' ecråxhî les doets (to achieve benefits, especially financial ones) · pl mościć sobie gniazdko (to achieve benefits, especially financial ones) · fi täyttää taskujaan (to achieve benefits, especially financial ones) · is skara eld að eigin köku (to achieve benefits, especially financial ones) · is skara eld að sinni köku (to achieve benefits, especially financial ones) · es hacer su agosto (to achieve benefits, especially financial ones) · bg оплитам си кошницата (to achieve benefits, especially financial ones) · pl mościć sobie gniazdo (to achieve benefits, especially financial ones) · cy pluo ei nyth (to achieve benefits, especially financial ones)