eat off

eat (something) off

To erode or wear something away. A very corrosive substance must have eaten off this part of the pipe.
See also: eat, off
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

eat something off (of) something

 and eat something off
to erode something off a larger part. (Of is usually retained before pronouns.) The acidic rain ate the finish off the steeple. The acid ate off the finish.
See also: eat, off
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • be off for (something)
  • be off for sth
  • browned off
  • breeze off
  • auction off
  • blast off for (somewhere)
  • blast off for somewhere
  • cadge (something) off (someone)
  • cadge something off someone
  • bum off
References in classic literature
And so, as we have said, the iron gate leading into the kitchen-garden had been closed up and left to the rust, which bade fair before long to eat off its hinges, while to prevent the ignoble glances of the diggers and delvers of the ground from presuming to sully the aristocratic enclosure belonging to the mansion, the gate had been boarded up to a height of six feet.
The discounter have a range of plates featuring bright and silly cartoon faces which kids will love to eat off.
The knock-on effect of Chinese government eat off slate at home too measures to control manufacturing and maintain competitiveness has led to the closure of some quarries.
A Singer-turned-hypnotherapist told how the secret to losing five stone is to eat off a [euro]1 blue plate.
"We try to eat off the grill and keep as much ice as we can," she said.
She even allowed her dress to come off and contorted her body into a bridge shape so she could eat off the floor.
But she admitted: "I can't get Kitty to eat off my hand at all."
I eat off an eight-and-ahalf inch plate and the effect of the operation is that you respond negatively to sugar and fat and you don't weight absorb them fully which makes you feel unwell - that's a bonus for me as I avoid them even now.
Scientists have taken a close-up of fish lips to find out just how certain species can safely eat off razor-sharp corals, and it turns out the fish are kissing the corals with lips covered in mucus.
1 Always wash your hands before eating, and only eat off clean, dry plates and utensils.
render burnt offerings and eat off the fat of the land;
They probably also allow the snapping, spoiled pets to eat off their plates, address the animals in nauseous "baby speak" and force them into fancy dress for boorish Facebook photos.
If I wanted to eat off wood, I'd dress as a squirrel and live up a tree.
What we take in the fall is what we eat off of for the entire year."
The 37-year-old British comedian believes an egg would be perfect to eat off the football star because it needs to be "mopped up".