English · Idiom Historical

pigs in clover

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

People who have money but don't know how to behave themselves decently. Also, a game consisting of a box divided into recesses into which one has to roll marbles by tilting the box.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Pigs Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “pigs in clover” mean?

People who have money but don't know how to behave themselves decently. Also, a game consisting of a box divided into recesses into which one has to roll marbles by tilting the box.

Is “pigs in clover” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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