feather one's (own) nest

feather one's (own) nest
feather one's (own) nest
1. Fig. to decorate and furnish one's home in style and comfort. (Alludes to birds lining their nests with feathers to make them warm and comfortable.) •

With the new family room and expanded kitchen, they seem to have feathered their nest quite comfortably.

2. Fig. to use power and prestige to provide for oneself selfishly. (Said especially of politicians who use their offices to make money for themselves.) •

The mayor seemed to be helping people, but she was really feathering her own nest.

The building contractor used a lot of public money to feather his nest.


Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • feather one's (own) nest — make money selfishly or opportunistically. → feather …   English new terms dictionary

  • feather one's nest — verb enrich oneself by taking advantage of one s position The congressmen feathered his nest through his connection with big business • Hypernyms: ↑enrich • Verb Frames: Somebody s somebody * * * phrasal : to provide for oneself especially… …   Useful english dictionary

  • feather one's nest — {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To use for yourself money and power, especially from a public office or job in which you are trusted to help other people. * /The rich man told his lawyer to use his money after he died to build a hospital for poor people …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • feather one's nest — {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To use for yourself money and power, especially from a public office or job in which you are trusted to help other people. * /The rich man told his lawyer to use his money after he died to build a hospital for poor people …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • feather\ one's\ nest — v. phr. informal 1. To use for yourself money and power, especially from a public office or job in which you are trusted to help other people. The rich man told his lawyer to use his money after he died to build a hospital for poor people, but… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • feather one's nest — look after one s own interest (while holding public office or a trusted job etc.) The mayor has been feathering his nest for many years and is now very rich …   Idioms and examples

  • To feather one's nest — Feather Feath er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Feathered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Feathering.}] 1. To furnish with a feather or feathers, as an arrow or a cap. [1913 Webster] An eagle had the ill hap to be struck with an arrow feathered from her own wing. L… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • feather — noun 1》 any of the flat appendages growing from a bird s skin, consisting of a partly hollow horny shaft fringed with vanes of barbs. 2》 (feathers) a fringe of long hair on the legs of a dog, horse, or other animal. verb 1》 rotate the blades of… …   English new terms dictionary

  • Feather — Feath er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Feathered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Feathering.}] 1. To furnish with a feather or feathers, as an arrow or a cap. [1913 Webster] An eagle had the ill hap to be struck with an arrow feathered from her own wing. L Estrange.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • feather — featherless, adj. featherlessness, n. featherlike, adj. /fedh euhr/, n. 1. one of the horny structures forming the principal covering of birds, consisting typically of a hard, tubular portion attached to the body and tapering into a thinner,… …   Universalium

  • Feather — For other uses, see Feather (disambiguation). Feather variations Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex… …   Wikipedia

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