fill the bill, to

fill the bill

To be helpful, useful, or what is needed in a certain situation. A: "I need another string of lights." B: "Will this one fill the bill?" I could probably find something to fill the bill if you were only out of vegetable oil—but you don't have eggs or flour either! How did you expect to bake anything today? Those snow boots would fill the bill—if they were only in my size!

See also: bill, fill

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

fill the bill

 and fit the bill

to be acceptable. Jane: I need some string. Tom: Here's some twine. Will it fill the bill? I need cloth to make a shirt. This muslin ought to fit the bill.

See also: bill, fill

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

fill the bill

Serve a particular purpose well, as in I was afraid there wasn't enough chicken for everyone, but this casserole will fill the bill , or Karen's testimony just fills the bill, so we're sure to get a conviction. This expression alludes to adding less-known performers to a program (or bill) in order to make a long enough entertainment. [First half of 1800s]

See also: bill, fill

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fill the bill

Informal

To serve a particular purpose.

See also: bill, fill

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fill the bill, to

To satisfy the requirements, to suit a purpose. This term originally came from the nineteenth-century American stage, where the posters announcing a program would list the star attractions and then add lesser-known entertainers to complete the show (or fill out the bill). By mid-century the term had been transferred to other areas, where it acquired a more primary sense of providing what was needed. Thus a political article in Harper’s Magazine in 1890 included the comment. “They filled the bill according to their lights.”

See also: fill, to

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer