to save one's bacon
Preserved but no longer current.
To save oneself from injury ; to escape loss. The allusion may be to the care taken by our forefathers to save from the numerous dogs that frequented their houses the bacon which was laid up for winter. But here I say the Turks were much mistaken, Who, hating hogs, yet wished to save their bacon. BYRON: Don Juan, vii, 42.
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 save one's bacon” mean?
To save oneself from injury ; to escape loss. The allusion may be to the care taken by our forefathers to save from the numerous dogs that frequented their houses the bacon which was laid up for winter. But here I say the Turks were much mistaken, Who, hating hogs, yet wished to save their bacon. BYRON: Don Juan, vii, 42.
Is “to save one's bacon” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.