Bring home the bacon
(PW) earn the family’s income
He stays home and raises the children and she brings home the bacon
(usingEnglish)
A person who brings home the bacon earns the money that a family live on.
(free)
bring home the bacon
Fig. to earn a salary; to bring home money earned at a job. I've got to get to work if I'm going to bring home the bacon. Go out and get a job so you can bring home the bacon.
bring home the bacon (informal)
1. to earn money to live on If Jo's going to be at home looking after the kids, someone needs to bring home the bacon.
2. to do something successfully, especially to win a game or race Racegoers crowded the stand to see him bring home the bacon. (= win the race)
bring home the bacon
1. to earn money to live on If Jo's going to stay at home with the kids, someone else will have to bring home the bacon.
2. to do something successfully Holtzman pitched poorly, and he was followed by McNamara, who didn't bring home the bacon either.
Usage notes: usually said about playing sports
(Answer)
1. Earn a living, provide the necessities of life, as in Now that she had a job, Patricia could bring home the bacon.
2. Be successful, accomplish something of value, as in George went to Washington and brought home the bacon--he got the funding we needed. Although the earliest citation for this phrase in the Oxford English Dictionary dates from 1924, the term is widely believed to come from the much older game of catching a greased pig, a popular competition at country fairs in which the winner was awarded the pig.
