begging bowl
Britishnoun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Soon the baby is being set out in the sun beside a begging bowl.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
He said London placed 49 bids, costing an estimated £2.2m, "for the privilege of having a begging bowl".
From BBC • Jan. 30, 2023
“We haven’t got a begging bowl out to the government, we just want help sometimes, sometimes its influence.. sometimes it’s a little bit of funding that gives us a bit of leverage,” he said.
From Reuters • Nov. 29, 2021
Nkengasong urges African countries not to wait for help and rejects the image of the continent holding a begging bowl.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2020
He turned to Puli, who had bought some marbles which he was tossing up and down in his begging bowl, being unable to use them in any other way.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.