out of house and home
3
7.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
sin hogar
- The natural disaster left many families out of house and home, seeking shelter in temporary facilities.
- eaten out of house and home
Examples
-
Following the fire, he was completely out of house and home and had to rely on friends for support.
-
After losing her job and apartment, she found herself out of house and home during the winter.
-
Eat me out of house and home.
Fiction book (1992) -
That lad is drinking me out of house and home.
-
It'd eat us out of house and home.
-
You know, when I first came here, I tried to hire some of these little country girls to clean, but they ate me out of house and home.
Fiction book (1996) -
Esme: They'll eat us out of house and home!
-
If squirrels or raccoons are eating you out of house and home, here's a simple solution.
Blog text (4)
Synonyms
579
1.4
Not having a home or feeling you have no place to belong
1
7.7
A person with no money, job, or home
1
5.1
Without a permanent home or stable place to live
Not having a home or place to live
A person or group who does not have shelter and the help they need
People who lose their home, land, or property because others force them out
How Housed
73
1.6
- Informal
3
7.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'left without a place to live' is directly derivable from the constituents: 'out of' (not having / away from) plus the coordinated nouns 'house and home' (residence). Although the construction is somewhat idiomatic and a bit old-fashioned, the semantic composition is straightforward and a B1 learner who knows the words would reasonably infer homelessness or being dispossessed.
Etymology
Out of house and home may come from the clear image of people forced out of their house with no home or things left behind. That's why it now means 'homeless' or 'left without a place to live'.