to bring home the bacon
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To bring back the prize; to succeed. This phrase may have originated in reference to the contest for the Dunmow flitch, or to the sport of catching a greased pig at country fairs.
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 “to bring home the bacon” mean?
To bring back the prize; to succeed. This phrase may have originated in reference to the contest for the Dunmow flitch, or to the sport of catching a greased pig at country fairs.
Is “to bring home the bacon” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.