keep the wolf from the door

Idioms  

1. Ward off starvation or financial ruin. For example, In many countries people are working simply to keep the wolf from the door, and owning a car or washing machine is just a dream, or Gail would take any job now, just to keep the wolf from the door. This term alludes to the wolf's fabled ravenousness. [Mid-1500s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

keep the wolf from the door

"It's not selling out. It's just another way to earn money, keep the wolf from the door, and get your music heard."

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2019

These survivors are here to keep the wolf from the door — to socialize, to dance and drink.

From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2017

A win may keep the wolf from the door but a loss could unleash the whole pack.

From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2016

You get paid rather well, not in a Premier League footballer or elite golfer sort of way but enough to keep the wolf from the door.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 25, 2011

How could this helpless family ever hope to keep the wolf from the door.

From Labrador Days Tales of the Sea Toilers by Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell