feast or faminephr.adj.

Brit.

/ˌfiːst ɔː ˈfamᵻn/, U.S.

/ˌfist ər ˈfæmən/

Forms:

α. 1800s– feast or famine.

β. 1800s– feast and famine.

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: feast n., or conj.¹, and conj.¹, famine n.

Etymology: In α. forms < feast n. + or conj.¹ + famine n. In β. forms < feast n. + and conj.¹ + famine n.

A. phr.

Used to describe a situation of extremes where there is alternately too much or not enough of something.

ΚΠ

1822 Supporter & Scioto (Ohio) Gaz. 20 Feb. It has been either a feast or famine with us the present winter, in respect to foreign papers.

1824 Cincinnati Lit. Gaz. 12 June 187/2 But owing to their frequent migrations, they are not able to transport a permanent stock of these articles; and very soon..they relapse into their habitual alternations of feast or famine.

1907 Amer. Art News 19 Jan. 4/1 In the art world of New York it is either a feast or famine. The two weeks of the holidays were as dull as usual, but the past week has brought so many incidents and events.

1957 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 71 408 Machine tool firms think of the demand for their product in terms of feast or famine, and the recognition of this variability influences the decisions taken by machine tool builder.

2019 Courier Mail (Austral.) (Nexis) 6 Apr. 58 He decided to open his own business to fill in the time between acting gigs. However, that business, like stunt work can be feast or famine.

B. adj. (attributive). Usually with hyphens.

Of or designating a situation of extremes where there is alternately too much or not enough of something.

ΚΠ

1874 Amer. Farmer Mar. 93/1 The feast and famine danger is illustrated by the pasturage of the steppes, where cattle live on luxuriant herbage or have to submit to what they can find when the drought nearly sweeps away all vegetation.

1877 Scotsman 26 May 7/1 That humorous Irishman referred to some time ago seemed to think that this ‘feast-and-famine’ system of feeding made well-mixed beef.

1932 Milbank Memorial Fund Q. Bull. 10 298 The profit motive..has been construed to mean maximum profits within a minimum time. This has produced the feast-or-famine experiences of business which are noticeably finding less favor.

1977 Newsweek (Nexis) 12 Sept. 90 Growing wheat is a feast-or-famine business.

2003 Time 24 Nov. 53/3 To be sure, many workers thrive in this feast-or-famine environment.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	feast or famine
释义	feast or faminephr.adj. Brit. /ˌfiːst ɔː ˈfamᵻn/, U.S. /ˌfist ər ˈfæmən/ Forms: α. 1800s– feast or famine. β. 1800s– feast and famine. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: feast n., or conj.¹, and conj.¹, famine n. Etymology: In α. forms < feast n. + or conj.¹ + famine n. In β. forms < feast n. + and conj.¹ + famine n. A. phr. Used to describe a situation of extremes where there is alternately too much or not enough of something. ΚΠ 1822 Supporter & Scioto (Ohio) Gaz. 20 Feb. It has been either a feast or famine with us the present winter, in respect to foreign papers. 1824 Cincinnati Lit. Gaz. 12 June 187/2 But owing to their frequent migrations, they are not able to transport a permanent stock of these articles; and very soon..they relapse into their habitual alternations of feast or famine. 1907 Amer. Art News 19 Jan. 4/1 In the art world of New York it is either a feast or famine. The two weeks of the holidays were as dull as usual, but the past week has brought so many incidents and events. 1957 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 71 408 Machine tool firms think of the demand for their product in terms of feast or famine, and the recognition of this variability influences the decisions taken by machine tool builder. 2019 Courier Mail (Austral.) (Nexis) 6 Apr. 58 He decided to open his own business to fill in the time between acting gigs. However, that business, like stunt work can be feast or famine. B. adj. (attributive). Usually with hyphens. Of or designating a situation of extremes where there is alternately too much or not enough of something. ΚΠ 1874 Amer. Farmer Mar. 93/1 The feast and famine danger is illustrated by the pasturage of the steppes, where cattle live on luxuriant herbage or have to submit to what they can find when the drought nearly sweeps away all vegetation. 1877 Scotsman 26 May 7/1 That humorous Irishman referred to some time ago seemed to think that this ‘feast-and-famine’ system of feeding made well-mixed beef. 1932 Milbank Memorial Fund Q. Bull. 10 298 The profit motive..has been construed to mean maximum profits within a minimum time. This has produced the feast-or-famine experiences of business which are noticeably finding less favor. 1977 Newsweek (Nexis) 12 Sept. 90 Growing wheat is a feast-or-famine business. 2003 Time 24 Nov. 53/3 To be sure, many workers thrive in this feast-or-famine environment. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < phr.adj.1822
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