to eat like a pig
5
7.8
- idiom
- Offensive
- He always eats like a pig at the buffet, piling his plate high with food.
Examples
-
She's eating like a pig!
Fiction book (1998) -
I'm still eating like a pig.
-
So you can eat like a pig and no one can see you.
-
You eat like a pig.
-
Stop eating like a pig.
-
Going to get drunk, eat like a pig and sleep like a child!
-
God, he eats like a pig.
-
I'm gonna eat like a pig.
-
You're eating like a pig again.
-
He ate like a pig.
Synonyms
24
5.8
To eat a lot quickly until you feel too full
19
5.9
To eat a very large amount of food greedily
13
3.1
To eat more food than your body needs at one time
11
7.5
Eat a very large amount of food without control
9
7.9
To eat a lot in a greedy way
2
4.9
To eat a very large amount of food
1
7.7
To eat a lot of food very fast without stopping
1
7.7
To eat a lot of food quickly without control
1
8.4
To eat a lot of food very quickly
1
7.7
Eating a lot and not leaving enough for others
1
8.2
To eat a lot of food very quickly
1
9.9
To eat a lot of food in a greedy way until you feel too full
1
5.7
To eat a lot of food quickly while enjoying it
1
9.9
To eat too much in a greedy way
1
9.9
To eat too much food quickly and greedily
To eat very quickly and without caring about manners
To eat or drink too much
To eat too much food in a greedy way
To eat a lot of food quickly and greedily
To eat a lot of food quickly
How Messy
- Offensive
5
7.8
54
2.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward simile: combining 'eat' with 'like a pig' indicates manner of eating by comparison to the stereotypical behavior of a pig. This compositional pattern (verb + 'like' + animal) is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the parts will readily infer the meaning 'to eat messily or greedily.'
Etymology
Eat like a pig comes from the image of a pig that eats quickly and makes a mess on the farm. So, to say someone eats like a pig means they eat in a very 'messy' or 'greedy' way.