save someone's bacon
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From an archaic sense of bacon, as a slang term referring to the human body.
Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]save someone's bacon (third-person singular simple present saves someone's bacon, present participle saving someone's bacon, simple past and past participle saved someone's bacon)
- Synonym of save someone's life (in all senses).
- 1876, W.H.G. Kingston, The Three Commanders:
- [A]n anxious eye had been kept on the pinnace and the vessel she was chasing. "She's up to her," cried Desmond, who was looking through his glass; "she struck without a blow, and there go our fellows tumbling on board. Little doubt, however, about her being a slaver, though, as they must have seen the way in which we got hold of this craft, they thought it as well to save their bacon, and make the best of a bad job."
- 1896, J.C. Hutcheson, Young Tom Bowling:
- [T]he tide being fortunately in our favour, we reached the Saint Vincent in good time, going up the accommodation ladder on the port side, which, as you know, is devoted to the use of the lower deck portion of the crew, just as Eight Bells struck. "Ha, my lads," cried the Jaunty, who stood by the entry-port, "you've just saved your bacon!"
- 2010 May 27, Galen Gruman, “What Steve Ballmer needs to do to save Microsoft's mobile bacon”, in Infoworld[1]:
- What Steve Ballmer needs to do to save Microsoft’s mobile bacon [title]