Idioms

donkey's breakfast

donkey's breakfast

1. A mattress filled with straw. This term was commonly used by sailors. There's nothing I can sleep on—not even a donkey's breakfast? Boy, am I stiff. I'll be happy to get to our next destination and have a real bed, instead of this donkey's breakfast! Sleeping on a donkey's breakfast gets old quick when you're at sea for weeks at a time.
2. A straw hat. Hand me my donkey's breakfast, will you? It's awfully sunny out today. I'm not ready to sit on the beach wearing a donkey's breakfast the way Grandma used to. I'm not that old yet! Why, this ol' donkey's breakfast does a great job of keeping the sun out of my eyes and off of my head!
See also: breakfast
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

donkey’s breakfast

n. something made of straw: a straw hat, a straw mattress, etc. The tourist was wearing a red dress and had a donkey’s breakfast on her head.
See also: breakfast
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
See also:
References in periodicals archive
They were known as "donkey's breakfasts" because they were traditionally filled with straw.
Sling your hammock; Flash back
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