Subsistence meaning

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No fav’ring patrons have I got, But just enough to boil the pot. See also potboiler, keep body and soul together To survive economically; to make enough money to take care of basic needs and thus stay alive, death being viewed as the separation of soul and body. This picturesque expression dates from the mid-18th century. By never letting him see you swallow half enough to keep body and soul together. (Jane Collier, The Art of Tormenting, 1753) keep one’s head above water To barely manage to keep out of debt; to remain financially solvent, however slightly. The allusion is to a swimmer too tired to go on who treads water to keep from going under altogether. The expression has been in figurative use since the early 18th century. Farmer Dobson, were I to marry him, has promised to keep our heads above water. (Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Promise of May, 1882) keep the wolf from the door To ward off starvation; to prevent want and necessity from becoming all-consuming; to struggle to provide the basic necessities. The rapacious wolf has long been a symbol of a devouring force, such as poverty, which deprives an individual of the basic necessities. Recorded use of this expression dates from the middle of the 15th century. Endowe hym now, with noble sapience By whiche he may the wolf werre frome the gate. (John Hardyng, Chronicle, 1457) make both ends meet To live within one’s means, to pay one’s expenses, to stay in the black financially. A longer version of the phrase is to mak...

Recent Examples on the Web The city’s main supply has been shut off at least four times, including one stretch last summer when residents subsisted without drinkable water for 45 days. — Joshua Lott, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2023 News North Slope Borough residents suggested last week closing caribou hunting to nonlocal hunters and preserving locals’ ability to subsist. — Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 28 Feb. 2023 Still, Addington, like his historical model, cannot subsist entirely on Platonic abstractions. — Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2023 Huge men may subsist on food portions that would barely sustain small women. — William Neff, Washington Post, 8 Dec. 2022 Community leaders described remote villages where much of the working-age male population received conscription notices in recent days, leaving families that subsist off the land without men around to work ahead of the long winter. — Anton Troianovski, New York Times, 23 Sep. 2022 Consider the Tsimane, indigenous people of the Bolivian Amazon, who subsist on wild foods and garden-scale farming. — Bridget Alex, Discover Magazine, 6 Feb. 2020 They are adept at climbing and can chew and claw through a host of materials, and can subsist on garbage. — Danny Mcdonald, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Dec. 2022 People in the western Netherlands had to subsist on just 500 to 1,000 calories each day, and sometimes even less. — Douglas G Adler, Discover Magazine, 21 Apr. 2019 See More These examples are programmatically c...

Recent Examples on the Web Tending her family’s garden for almost a decade has given spiritual sustenance to Dungy, a poet and an environmentalist. — Becky Meloan, Washington Post, 1 May 2023 Plus, these tiny superfoods are full of prebiotic fiber,2 an indigestible fiber that serves as sustenance for our healthy gut bacteria. — Christina Manian, Rdn, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Apr. 2023 Since the bees weren’t out gathering nectar and pollen for nourishment, the 71-year-old beekeeper provided sustenance for them. — Amy Taxin, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2023 Excessive claims about the performance and benefits of ESG funds and poor transparency regarding their portfolio construction by Sustainability Opportunists have provided great sustenance to the voracious maws of the always-hungry Sustainability Taliban and Sustainability Flat-Earthers. — Robert G. Eccles, Forbes, 25 Jan. 2023 No Hide and American Journey peanut butter treats to give them sustenance and rewards during the excursion. — Katherine Alex Beaven, Travel + Leisure, 24 Jan. 2023 That sustenance amounted to $11 million in the past three years, Cunningham said. — Dallas News, 29 Dec. 2022 Whale skin and blubber, or muktuk, was prized, not only as a form of sustenance and a trading commodity, but also because of the spiritual value of sharing the catch with the community. — Saima May Sidik, WIRED, 3 Dec. 2022 These mechanical phenomena can wreak havoc on life that relies on the lake for sustenance or their livelihoods (in th...