food for thought

Idioms  

1. An idea or issue to ponder, as in That interesting suggestion of yours has given us food for thought. This metaphoric phrase, transferring the idea of digestion from the stomach to mulling something over in the mind, dates from the late 1800s, although the idea was also expressed somewhat differently at least three centuries earlier.

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Example Sentences

Iran’s failures as well as its successes give Beijing food for thought.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

But it also contains this tidbit, food for thought today:

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

Ahead of Tuesday night, Scotland's limp beginning isn't so much food for thought for Clarke, it's a veritable feast, a banquet of things to fix, in tactics, in formation, in selection, in psychology.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2025

What is “Love is Blind” if not food for thought about your own desires and must-haves in a relationship?

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2025

But it was food for thought: effective rhetoric need not always be fancy rhetoric.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith