Saving bacon

Posted by R. Berg May 26, 2005In reply to Saving bacon posted by Joanna Russell on May 25, 2005

What is the origin of "Saving someone's bacon"?

In this phrase, bacon represents the person's body. (Compare "He saved my ass.") The Oxford English Dictionary defines "to save one's bacon" as "to escape injury to one's body, to keep oneself from harm." The earliest example it quotes is dated 1691.

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Saving bacon James Briggs 26/May/05