idiom · neutral

bring home the bacon

UK/brɪŋ həʊm ðə ˈbeɪkən/US/brɪŋ hoʊm ðə ˈbeɪkən/BRING·HOME·the·BACON

speakingtask2

to earn the money that a family needs; to be the main earner

Examples

“After he got the promotion, he was proud to be bringing home the bacon.”

“Many households now rely on both partners to bring home the bacon.”

“She works two jobs to bring home the bacon for her children.”

Band 8 sentence

“In many immigrant families, it's common for the eldest child to take on extra work to help bring home the bacon.”

Collocations

  • bring home the bacon for someone
  • be the one who brings home the bacon

Word family

bring home the bacon verb phrasebrings home the bacon verb - present singular

Common mistakes

bring the bacon home→bring home the bacon

bring home bacon→bring home the bacon

Say it for a higher band

5earn money→6earn a living→7+bring home the bacon

Synonyms

earn a living

Easily confused

earn a living

“He earns a living as a freelance designer.”

pay the bills

“She works overtime to pay the bills at the end of the month.”

Related words

make ends meetcost an arm and a legtighten one's beltpenny-wise and pound-foolishstrapped for cashliving paycheck to paychecka fool and his money are soon partedsave up for a rainy day

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In Money

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