fat of the land, the

fat of the land

1. The hypothetical surplus that one can access in order to live comfortably without working very hard. Often used in the phrase "live off the fat of the land." Ben has been living off the fat of the land for too long—it's time for him to get a job!

2. The best of something. It's a party, and we've got some delicious food—come on, everybody, and enjoy the fat of the land!

fat of the land, the

The best or richest of anything, as in The tiny upper class lived off the fat of the land while many of the poor were starving. This expression alludes to fat in the sense of "the best or richest part." The Bible has it as eat the fat of the land (Genesis 45:18).

See also: fat, of

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.

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References in periodicals archive ?

Perhaps best known for his debut track as singer, Firestarter, from the 1997 album Fat of the Land, the 49-year-old was a powerhouse on stage and the face of one of the UK's best loved music acts.

Best Keith Flint Prodigy songs as fans pay tribute following singer's sudden death; Best known for Firestarter, the Essex singer also tore it up on some lesser known Prodigy tracks

They will stand as monuments to our folly, Nuon will probably no longer exist and the bosses will be living off the fat of the land, the fat being the profits they will have picked up from this very lucrative investment.

Letter: More notice needed of turbine 'events'

SEVEN years after releasing The Fat Of The Land, The Prodigy are determined to prove dance music is far from dead.

Out of the as he s; RED-HOT KEITH AND CO.SET CARLING ACADEMY ALIGHT CARLING ACADEMY, GLASGOW, DECEMBER 8TH PRODIGY

And he reminds us how often--and perhaps how unwittingly--we still speak the words of that miraculous committee: labor of love, lick the dust, clear as crystal, a thorn in the flesh, a soft answer, the root of all evil, the fat of the land, the sweat of thy brow, hip and thigh, arose as one man, a broken reed, a word in season, how the might y are fallen, the eleventh hour, pearls before swine, a law unto themselves, weighed in the balance and found wanting, the shadow of death.

The Words for the Word

So if Eat Fat is an antidote to The Fat of the Land, the reverse is also true.

The Fat of the land: The Obesity Epidemic and How Overweight Americans Can help Themselves

RECORD stores on the other side of the Atlantic are refusing to stock Fat Of The Land, the Prodigy album which topped the charts here for six weeks.