bite the hand that feeds one

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

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Verb

bite the hand that feeds one

1. (idiomatic) to cause harm to a benefactor (especially one that one is dependent on, thus with the idea that this behaviour is self-damaging)
   • 2004, Jay Newton-Small, "The Dems' Tax (and Spend) Dilemma," Time, 15 Nov.:

     And the reality is, for all the talk about lobbying reform, Congress has never been known to bite the hand that feeds it.

Translations

cause harm to a benefactor

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 狗咬呂洞賓／狗咬吕洞宾 (zh) (gǒu yǎo Lǚ Dòngbīn), 狗咬吕洞宾 (zh) (gǒu yǎo Lǚ Dòngbīn), 忘恩負義／忘恩负义 (zh) (wàng'ēnfùyì), 忘恩负义 (zh) (wàng ēn fù yì)

• Finnish: purra ruokkivaa kättä
• French: mordre la main qui nourrit (fr), mordre la main nourricière (fr)
• Galician: morder na man que che dá de comer
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: in die Hand beißen, die einen füttert; (commoner, but broader in meaning) den Ast absägen, auf dem man sitzt (literally “saw off the branch on which one is sitting”)
• Italian: mordere la mano che ti nutre, sputare nel piatto in cui si mangia
• Portuguese: cuspir no prato que comeu
• Russian: куса́ть ру́ку, кото́рая ко́рмит (kusátʹ rúku, kotóraja kórmit), руби́ть сук, на кото́ром сиди́шь (rubítʹ suk, na kotórom sidíšʹ)
• Spanish: morder la mano que te da de comer (es)