fat of the land

fat of the land

1. The hypothetical surplus that one can access in order to live comfortably without working very hard. Often used in the phrase "live off the fat of the land." Ben has been living off the fat of the land for too long—it's time for him to get a job!
2. The best of something. It's a party, and we've got some delicious food—come on, everybody, and enjoy the fat of the land!
See also: fat, land, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

fat of the land, the

The best or richest of anything, as in The tiny upper class lived off the fat of the land while many of the poor were starving. This expression alludes to fat in the sense of "the best or richest part." The Bible has it as eat the fat of the land (Genesis 45:18).
See also: fat, of
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

the fat of the land

Desirable resources, especially when acquired with little effort: I fantasized about buying a farm and living off the fat of the land.
See also: fat, land, of
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • fat of the land, the
  • the fat of the land
  • live out
  • live for
  • live for (someone or something)
  • all the way live
  • they that live longest see most
  • tweet
  • live-tweet
  • live and let live
References in periodicals archive
You could understand Howlett's desire not to repeat himself musically, but clearly to a considerable proportion of the people who had bought 'The Fat of the Land', Flint was the Prodigy.
Keith Flint: The pioneer who lit a fire with British pop
The Prodigy have just scored their sixth consecutive number one album with The Day is My Enemy, heralded as their finest since 1997's Fat of the Land, and have a busy summer ahead with headline slots at the Isle of Wight Festival and T in the Park.
The Prodigy announce November gig at Metro Radio Arena Newcastle; The dance outfit, famous for huge hits like No Good for Me and Firestarter will play the Metro Radio Arena
It is as if they are there to just mumble shibboleths and give pompous sermons and live off the fat of the land.
Freedom is shooting 28 Bangladeshis
Try these: Prodigy, The Fat of the Land; Oasis, Definitely Maybe.
releases latest By Andrew Greenhalgh
There is no point in them pretending that they are not the party of multi-millionaires and the tiny gloating, bloated minority who live off the fat of the land and the work of the vast majority.
Is bubbly a sign Tories are toast?
He wants to live off the fat of the land and the philosophy of a success guru called Johnny Wu convinces him that all the glittering things of life can be his.
Rock and rolling in the aisles; Transformers director turns his hand to comedy with Wahlburg and The Rock muscling in on the gags. PAIN & GAIN 15
Council members have been under fire from block club members and tenants at the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center who've grown used to living off the fat of the land, and having taxpayers subsidize their hobbies.
Council dinners come in cheap compared to Dyster, Owens tabs
However, when I picked up the April, 18, 2011 Life & Health issue, I notice the article, "The Fat of the Land." This is a health issue you are writing about, sir.
The fat of the land
I imagine he's already dreaming of settling down on his beautiful Punjab plot and living off the fat of the land.
Massive prize awaits Pakistan; PICK OF THE DAY
Cook was a senior book editor at Amazon .com before leaving the corporate world in 2004 to live in a cabin and write his first book, "Fat of the Land: Adventures of a 21st Century Forager."
BOOK NOTES
FAT OF THE LAND: ADVENTURES OF A 21ST CENTURY FORAGER blends food with natural history and tells of the author's conversion from a prepackaged food fan to one who coveted wild edibles.
Fat of the Land
THE FAT OF THE LAND How the calorie increases stack up in England, Scotland and Wales.
CREDIT MUNCH; We're adding 869 calories every week in comfort food
It's about time the people who are handing out these benefits wake up and smell the coffee; some of the so-called disabled are living on the fat of the land.
Taking advantage; YourSay
Listening to tracks from their Fat of the Land album, like Breathe and Firestarter, took me back to my teenage years when The Prodigy were at the top of their game.
Prodigy are still so hot; Young reviewer VICTORIA WATSON saw The Prodigy play at Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena last night
Interesting fact: The Prodigy's next album, Invaders Must Die, will be the first time since Fat of the Land that all three band members have featured on one of their LPs.
The Prodigy; coming soon