mere fodder
1
8.4
- noun
- Offensive
- The celebrity scandal was mere fodder for tabloid newspapers.
Examples
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The politician's mistakes became mere fodder for his critics in the press.
-
Her ideas were treated as mere fodder for the company's marketing campaign.
-
He felt like mere fodder in the debate.
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The workers were treated as mere fodder by the management.
-
The celebrity scandal was mere fodder for tabloid newspapers, which thrive on sensational stories.
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Her ideas were treated as mere fodder for the company's marketing campaign, without any real consideration.
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The politician's mistakes became mere fodder for his critics in the press, who exploited them for headlines.
Synonyms
22
1.7
A thing that is useless and not worth keeping
15
5.8
A person or thing of little importance
11
8.4
Useless or unimportant things that distract from what matters
2
9.9
A person seen as having no value or use
2
9.9
Something of little or no worth
1
4.3
A thing like time or money that is completely useless and gives no benefit
1
8.4
Someone or something people see as weak and not important
1
9.9
A small unimportant thing you do not need
Something that has no value or use
Antonyms
How Valuable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a simple adjectival composition where 'mere' (only/insignificant) modifies 'fodder' (material or people used/consumed), so the sense 'only material to be used' is directly derivable from the constituents. This follows ordinary English compounding patterns and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words and their basic senses.
Etymology
Mere fodder comes from the image of fodder, the food farmers give to animals, and mere meaning 'only'. Imagine ideas or events being fed to animals and quickly used up without care, so the phrase means something treated as material or 'unimportant' for someone else's use.