the skeleton at the feast
Preserved but no longer current.
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 skeleton at the feast” mean?
The thing or person that acts as a reminder that there are troubles as well as pleasures in life. Plutarch says in his Moralia that the Egyptians always had a skeleton placed in a prominent position at their banquets.
Is “the skeleton at the feast” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.