the food of the gods

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

See AMBROSIA ; NECTAR. To become food for the worms, or for the fishes. To be dead and buried, or to be drowned.

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.

Common questions

What does “the food of the gods” mean?

See AMBROSIA ; NECTAR. To become food for the worms, or for the fishes. To be dead and buried, or to be drowned.

Is “the food of the gods” formal or informal?

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