feast
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Barmecide feast
That which pretends or is imagined to be extravagant, plentiful, or opulent, but which in reality is comprised of little or nothing; that which proves to be illusory or unreal. Taken from the name of a prince in Arabian Nights who offers a feast to a beggar but gives him only empty plates. The money you make on the stock market can end up as a Barmecide feast: you think you're making millions of dollars, and then in the blink of an eye it is all gone.
See also: feast
a feast for the eyes
An especially attractive, pleasing, and/or remarkable sight or visual experience. His newest film has such lush cinematography that it is truly a feast for the eyes. He emerged from the tailor in a brand new designer suit, and I thought he was a feast for the eyes.
feast (one's) eyes
To gaze upon something with joy or pleasure. Feast your eyes! Dinner has been served! I got my report card today—feast your eyes on all those A's!
movable feast
An event or occurrence that does not happen on a predictable schedule. Since Easter does not fall on the same calendar date each year, it's often called a movable feast.
skeleton at the feast
One whose pessimistic outlook or behavior dampens the mood at a happy event. Don't invite Chris to your engagement party—he's always so gloomy and will just be a skeleton at the feast.
a contented mind is a perpetual feast
If happy and satisfied, one will not strive to acquire more. Once I reframed my priorities, I realized that I had everything I could ever want. I guess it's true that a contented mind is a perpetual feast.
enough is as good as a feast
Just having enough of something is plenty. Primarily heard in UK. A: "Would you like more?" B: "Oh, no thank you. Enough is as good as a feast."
the ghost at the feast
Someone or something that acts as a reminder of something negative and thus ruins the enjoyment of something. Primarily heard in UK. I think I'll stay home. I'm afraid that since everyone knows about my recent diagnosis, I will be the ghost at the feast.
feast (one's) eyes on (something)
To gaze upon something with joy, pleasure, or admiration. Often used as an imperative. Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on these exquisite works of art. I got my report card today—feast your eyes on all those A's! You were too busy feasting your eyes on the neighbor's car to realize you were watering the driveway.
feast or famine
Describing a situation in which there is either an excess or a lack of quantity. Freelance projects always seem to be feast or famine, unfortunately—this line of work is very unpredictable.
See also: feast
feast of reason
An intellectual or scholarly discussion. The phrase comes from 18th-century poet Alexander Pope. Oh, I left because the feast of reason that's going on in there started to bore me.
feast (one's) eyes on (someone or something)
To gaze upon something with joy or pleasure. Feast your eyes! Dinner has been served! I got my report card today—feast your eyes on all those A's!
the spectre at the feast
Someone or something that acts as a reminder of something negative and thus ruins the enjoyment of something. Primarily heard in UK. I think I'll stay home. I'm afraid that since everyone knows about my recent diagnosis, I will be the spectre at the feast.
contented mind is a perpetual feast
Prov. If you are mentally at peace, you will always feel that you have enough of everything, and will not have to strive to get more. Jill: Lillian doesn't make very much money, but she seems to be happy all the time. I wonder how she manages that? Jane: A contented mind is a perpetual feast.
*(either) feast or famine
Fig. either too much (of something) or not enough (of something). (*Typically: be ~; have ~.) This month is very dry, and last month it rained almost every day. Our weather is either feast or famine. Sometimes we are busy, and sometimes we have nothing to do. It's feast or famine.
See also: feast
Enough is as good as a feast.
Prov. You do not need more than enough of anything. We don't have much of a surplus of food for dinner tonight, but enough is as good as a feast. Jane: I wish I could offer you more lavish hospitality. Jane: Don't be silly. Enough is as good as a feast.
feast one's eyes (on or upon someone or something)
Fig. to enjoy the sight of someone or something. (Upon is formal and less commonly used than on.) Just feast your eyes on that beautiful beach. Jane feasted her eyes on Roger for a while and then went on with her studying.
feast (up)on something
to eat a great deal of something; to eat a feast built around something in particular. We will feast upon turkey for weeks. We feasted on the fish Harry had caught.
movable feast
1. Lit. a religious holiday that is on a different date from year to year. Easter is the best known movable feast.
2. Fig. a meal that is served in motion or with different portions of the meal served at different locations. (Jocular or a complete misunderstanding of {1} but in wide use.) We enjoyed a real movable feast on the train from Washington to Maimi.
feast one's eyes on
Be delighted or gratified by the sight of, as in I'm feasting my eyes on this new sculpture-it's wonderful. This metaphoric expression may have been originated by Shakespeare, who used it in Sonnet 47: "With my love's picture then my eye doth feast."
feast or famine
Also, either feast or famine. Either too much or too little, too many or too few. For example, Free-lancers generally find it's feast or famine-too many assignments or too few, or Yesterday two hundred showed up at the fair, today two dozen-it's either feast or famine . This expression, which transfers an overabundance or shortage of food to numerous other undertakings, was first recorded in 1732 as feast or fast, the noun famine being substituted in the early 1900s.
See also: feast
feast your eyes on something/someone
If you feast your eyes on something or someone, you look at them with a great deal of pleasure. While you enjoy the music, you can feast your eyes on the superb architecture and paintings in one of Rome's finest churches. Park for free, get your chairs and picnic out of the boot and feast your eyes on one of the best views in the South of England. Note: You can also say that something or someone is a feast for the eyes a feast for the eyes. In France almost every shop is a feast for the eyes and tastebuds. Note: The idea is of allowing your eyes to appreciate something visually in the same way that your mouth allows you to enjoy the quantity and quality of food at a feast or large meal.
enough is as good as a feast
BRITISH, OLD-FASHIONEDIf you say enough is as good as a feast, you mean that there is no point in having more of something than you need or want. I'm afraid it's only soup and bread for lunch but enough is as good as a feast, as my great aunt Daisy would say. Nobody loves a tune better than I do. But I always say enough is as good as a feast; do you not agree? Note: This was first used by the Greek writer Euripides in the 5th century BC to explain that it is wrong to be greedy.
feast or famine
If someone describes a situation as feast or famine, they mean that there is always either too much or too little of something. Money is a problem. `It's feast or famine with me,' she says. Note: People often vary this expression. This new series is a feast in what is otherwise a famine of intelligent television. After a long famine, a mini-feast: investors are once again providing banks with the capital they need.
See also: feast
a movable feast
If an event is a movable feast, it can happen at different times or in different places. Held about 29 May, the festival was a movable feast. Working parents wish to spend time with their children after they get home, so bedtime has become a movable feast. Note: This expression originally referred to religious holidays that are always celebrated at about the same time of year, but not always on exactly the same day.
the spectre at the feast
orthe ghost at the feast
BRITISHIf someone or something is the spectre at the feast or the ghost at the feast, they make people feel uncomfortable because they remind them of an unhappy event or situation. At the funeral, Lindsay had stood apart, the ultimate spectre at the feast. That question was the ghost at the feast and cast a shadow over the celebrations. Note: According to the Greek writer Plutarch, the Ancient Egyptians used to place a skeleton at the table during a feast, to remind them that they would die one day.
enough is as good as a feast
moderation is more satisfying than excess. proverbfeast your eyes on
gaze at with pleasure.feast of reason
intellectual talk.This expression comes from the poet Alexander Pope's description of congenial conversation in Imitations of Horace: ‘The feast of reason and the flow of soul’.
feast or famine
either too much of something or too little.See also: feast
a ghost (or spectre) at the feast
someone or something that brings gloom or sadness to an otherwise pleasant or celebratory occasion.The ghost or spectre of Banquo at the feast in Shakespeare's Macbeth is the most famous literary instance of this. There are other versions of the expression. A skeleton at the feast dates from the mid 19th century and probably refers to the ancient Egyptian practice of having the coffin of a dead person, adorned with a painted portrait of the deceased, present at a funeral banquet. A death's head at the feast alludes to the use of a death's head or skull as a memento mori (an object which serves as a reminder of death).
a movable feast
an event which takes place at no regular time.In a religious context a movable feast is a feast day (especially Easter Day and the other Christian holy days whose dates are related to it) which does not occur on the same calendar date each year.
feast your ˈeyes (on somebody/something)
look at somebody/something and get great pleasure: Wow! Come and feast your eyes on this birthday cake!feast (one's) eyes on
To be delighted or gratified by the sight of: We feasted our eyes on the paintings.