to eat its head off
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Said of an animal (usually a horse) that eats more than he is worth, or whose work does not pay for the cost of keeping.
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 eat its head off” mean?
Said of an animal (usually a horse) that eats more than he is worth, or whose work does not pay for the cost of keeping.
Is “to eat its head off” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.