to make a pig of oneself
- idiom
- Informal
Examples
-
Well, you certainly did make a pig of yourself last night.
-
Now then, don't make a pig of yourself with that.
-
Mr. Kowalski is too busy making a pig of himself to think of anything else.
-
After the feast, he realized he had really made a pig of himself with all those desserts.
-
Even though she was full, she couldn't resist and made a pig of herself at the buffet.
-
Don't make a pig of yourself at the party; remember to save some food for others.
Synonyms
To eat a lot quickly until you feel too full
To drink a lot very quickly
To eat more food than your body needs at one time
To eat a very large amount of food greedily
Eat a very large amount of food without control
To eat a lot in a greedy way
To eat in a very messy and greedy way
To take more than your fair share of food or things
Let yourself and others have too much food or drink
To eat a lot of food very quickly
To eat a very large amount of food
To eat, drink, or use more than you need in an unhealthy way
To behave in a greedy and messy way, often when eating with others
To eat a lot of food quickly without control
To eat too much food at one time
To eat too much food quickly and greedily
To eat a lot of food very quickly
To eat a lot of food in a greedy way until you feel too full
To eat too much in a greedy way
To eat too much food in a greedy way
To eat a lot of food quickly
Eating a lot and not leaving enough for others
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally means to 'cause oneself to become like a pig' and since 'pig' commonly carries a derogatory sense of greediness, a learner who knows the constituents can plausibly infer it refers to greedy or excessive eating/drinking. However, the construction 'make a X of oneself' is idiomatic and relies on a cultural/figurative mapping (behave like an animal) that is not fully regular or predictable, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Make a pig of oneself comes from the clear picture of a person eating like a pig, grabbing lots of food and making a mess. That's why it means 'to eat too much' or act in a greedy, untidy way.