🐺 Keep the Wolf Away from the Door: Starvation and Insolvency Saviors 🏠
Ah, the relentless ravenousness of wolves! This phrase dates back to the sixteenth century and earned its place in John Heywood’s 1546 collection of proverbs. The imagery of a rapacious lupine predator at your door—ready to gobble you up if you don’t keep hustling—is simply too vivid to ignore. Although it became a cliché by the 1800s, it retains a growling charm.
What Does It Mean?
- To fend off starvation, financial ruin, or dire need by making ends meet.
Related and Similar Terms
- Make ends meet: To have just enough to live on.
- Scrape by: Surviving with minimum resources.
- Hand to mouth existence: Living in a precarious, day-to-day struggle.
- Robbing Peter to pay Paul: Addressing one debt by incurring another.
- Penny pinching: To be very careful with money; frugal.
Synonyms
- Avoid poverty
- Fend off destitution
- Stay afloat
- Keep head above water
Antonyms
- Rolling in dough
- Flush
- Affluent
- Prosperous
Humor-filled Quotes
“I don’t intend to keep the wolf from the door just by stocking up on steaks. Though that might give me a fighting chance.” — W. T. Wittywords
Proverbs and References
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“When the wolf is at the door, something about the way the light hits makes your five-star meal look a whole lot like them other stars when they’re broke: plain old aphids.” — Anonymous
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Suggestion in Literature:
- “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens. A classic take on poverty and the struggle to fend off insolvency.
- “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck explores fending off destitution during the Great Depression.
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Movies:
- It’s a Wonderful Life portrays a financial struggle that nearly leads to ruin.
- Pursuit of Happyness featuring a man’s unwavering effort to keep solvent and provide for his child.
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Songs:
- “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits includes an element of financial dreams and struggles.
- “Working Class Hero” by John Lennon captures the struggle of keeping the wolf at bay.
Inspirational Themed Farewell
May you keep the wolves of worry far from your door, always embracing creativity, prosperity, and the laughter that accompanies the keenest clichéd wisdom.
