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Glite Dictionary
to pull someone's bacon out of the fire

to pull someone's bacon out of the fire

1 8.9
Save someone from a difficult situation at the last moment
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : sacar a alguien del apuro
  • Thanks to her friend, she was able to pull her bacon out of the fire and avoid getting into trouble.

Examples

  • When the project was failing, her quick thinking helped pull everyone's bacon out of the fire at the last minute.

  • From where he stands, it looks like only he can save himself—at least for long enough until some hero comes along and pulls his bacon out of the fire.

    Blog text (29)

  • The team managed to pull his bacon out of the fire just in time, preventing him from losing the game.

Synonyms

to save
vsto pull someone's bacon out of the fire
∞ 1.0

Rescue someone or something from danger

is narrower, focusing on help given in the last urgent moment
to rescue
vsto pull someone's bacon out of the fire
633 1.0

Save someone or something from danger

is about doing that specifically at the final urgent moment
to come to one's rescue
vsto pull someone's bacon out of the fire
16 3.1

To help someone who is in trouble or danger

is specifically about helping someone at the final urgent moment rather than general aid
to come to the rescue
vsto pull someone's bacon out of the fire
14 3.4

Arrive to help someone who is in trouble

is about helping especially at the final urgent moment rather than general arrival
to save (someone's) ass
vsto pull someone's bacon out of the fire
  • Offensive
1 9.3

To help someone out of a dangerous or embarrassing situation at the last moment

is about helping in the final urgent moment rather than general assistance

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

to abandon
773 3.1

Leave someone or something behind permanently and without care

How Helpful

to pull someone's bacon out of the fire
  • Informal
1 8.9
to rescue
633 1.0
to save
∞ 1.0
to bail out
84 3.7
to help out
  • Informal
486 1.0
help
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

pull someone's bacon out of the fire infinitive
pulled someone's bacon out of the fire past
pulled someone's bacon out of the fire past participle
pulling someone's bacon out of the fire present participle
pulls someone's bacon out of the fire third person singular

Morphology

pull + someone's + bacon + out + of + the + fire

The literal image—pulling someone's bacon out of a fire—directly evokes saving a valued thing from danger, so a learner who knows the words could plausibly infer a figurative sense of rescuing someone from trouble. However, the use of 'bacon' as what is saved and the extension from saving an object to saving a person is metaphorical and somewhat culture-specific, making the exact sense not fully predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

The idiom pull someone's bacon out of the fire comes from a simple cooking image: someone quickly pulls hot bacon away from the fire so it does not burn. That's why the phrase means 'to rescue someone from a difficult or dangerous situation', often at the last moment.