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Synonyms

bite the hand that feeds you

Idioms  

  1. Show ingratitude, turn against a benefactor. For example, The college gave me a scholarship, so I shouldn't bite the hand that feeds me and criticize its hiring policies. Used about 600 b.c. by the Greek poet Sappho, this metaphor of a dog biting its master was first recorded in English in 1711.

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.

To Gay, it also felt like Garcia was betting against her own team and had violated the cardinal rule of reality TV: Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 2024

“Every artist is understandably nervous to bite the hand that feeds you, even if it doesn’t feed you much,” Hunt said.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 14, 2022

Some protesters held placards reading ‘No farmer, no food’ and ‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you’.

From Reuters • Jul. 16, 2021

Don’t bite the hand that feeds you if it’s a winning hand.

From Washington Post • Dec. 8, 2019

You oughtn’t to bite the hand that feeds you, Rosie.

From The Heart of Canyon Pass by Holmes, Thomas K.

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.