the widow's cruse
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A small supply of any- thing which, by good management, is made to go a long way and to be apparently in- exhaustible. In allusion to the miracle of the cruse of oil m 2 Kings iv.
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 widow's cruse” mean?
A small supply of any- thing which, by good management, is made to go a long way and to be apparently in- exhaustible. In allusion to the miracle of the cruse of oil m 2 Kings iv.
Is “the widow's cruse” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.