feed a cold, starve a fever
English
Etymology
- An old wives' tale that dates back to 1574 from the original "Fasting is a great remedie of feuer."[1]
Proverb
- Expressing the common belief that eating more will cure the common cold, and eating less will cure a fever.[2]
- 1887, J. H. Whelan, "The Treatment of Colds," The Practitioner, vol. 38, pg. 180:
- "Feed a cold, starve a fever." There is a deal of wisdom in the first part of this advice. A person with a catarrh should take an abundance of light nutritious food, and some light wine, but avoid spirits, and above all tobacco.
- 1968, Katinka Loeser, The Archers at Home, publ. Atheneum, New York, pg. 60:
- I have a cold. 'Feed a cold, starve a fever.' You certainly know that.
- 2009, Shelly Reuben, Tabula Rasa, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, pg. 60:
- They say feed a cold, starve a fever, but they don't tell you what to do when you got both, so I figured scrambled eggs, tea, and toast.
- 1887, J. H. Whelan, "The Treatment of Colds," The Practitioner, vol. 38, pg. 180:
Translations
proverb expressing the belief that eating more cures a cold while eating less cures a fever
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